


In Sickness and In Health

by Antarctic_Echoes



Series: Carry On, Wayward Son [7]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Grand Romance, Non-Graphic Violence, Some Lucifer Whump, Strong Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-12 11:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 42,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7933120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctic_Echoes/pseuds/Antarctic_Echoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Still reeling from Raphael's news, Lucifer goes in search of a cure for Chloe's heart and runs afoul of a goddess along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reactions to the News

**Author's Note:**

> A super-huge THANK YOU!! to all of you wonderful readers out there who have taken the time to read this massive saga and keep up with this Lucifer and Chloe. It really means a lot to me, and I really appreciate your reading and commenting! You are all awesome and I am YOUR biggest fan! Thank you!!!
> 
> A very, very massive THANK YOU to my most excellent beta, ScooterThyme, whose excellent editing skills have made this work shine. You are totally awesome and I'm so glad you're my beta! Thank you!!
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker, Trixie Decker, Mazikeen, Amenadiel, Linda Martin and Dan Espinoza are owned by Vertigo Comics, DC Comics, Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey, and everyone else involved with the Lucifer TV show and comic books. I own nothing and make no money on this. I merely am borrowing the characters for... uh... writing practice. (Everyone else is my creation.)

 

 

“Congratulations are in order.  Chloe, you’re pregnant.  Lucifer, you’re going to be a father.”

Chloe and Lucifer sat on the couch and stared, aghast, at Raphael.  They had just learned that something had a terrible grip on the detective’s soul and was putting her life in danger, and now this?

“No, that’s not possible,” Lucifer said at the same time Chloe said, “You’re kidding, right?”

The healer angel shook his head.  “No mistake.  I may not be able to heal souls, but bodies?  I know those perfectly well.  You’re not very far along, Chloe.... The baby was conceived about a week or so ago.  Take it easy, okay?  And I’ll talk to the angels upstairs and see if there’s anyone who can help with your other problem.”  His voice sounded doubtful about the possibility of angelic help.

“Right.  I can’t have children,” the Devil said firmly.  “You know that -- Dad made us all sterile after the Nephilim debacle.”

“And I’m on contraceptives!” Chloe cried.  “There is no way --”

“You both can keep telling yourselves that, but the baby  _ is _ coming,” Rafe said.  “Look, I don’t know how or why this is happening, but it is.  You’re going to have to start taking care of yourself, Chloe.  You’ve got the baby to consider.”

“No no nononono,” sputtered Lucifer.  “No, this can’t be happening.  I don’t even like children!  Maybe -- is it someone else’s?”

_ “Excuse me?!” _  Chloe glared daggers at him.  “You think -- Are you saying I cheated on you?!”

“No, of course not, my dear, but I can’t have children.  In all my five years here on Earth, I’ve never impregnated anyone!  No.  It must be someone else’s.”  Lucifer started shaking his head violently.  “It can’t be mine.  That’s just bloody impossible.”

Chloe’s hand shot out, slapping the fallen angel hard across the cheek.  “How can you say that?!  I am not promiscuous!”

“Oh, I know that, Detective!” he cried, confused at her reaction.  “I know that, but how else would --”

She slapped him again.  “Keep talking, Mister, and I will knock you into kingdom come.”  Her hand balled into a fist.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Raphael interrupted, upset at the direction the conversation was taking.  “Look, I can tell you if the baby is angelic or not.  Just give me a moment and please stop hitting each other!”

“The detective is the one who is doing all the bloody hitting!” accused Lucifer, holding his stinging cheek.

“That’s because you’re acting like an ass --”

_ “Shut up! _  Both of you!”  Taking a deep breath to calm down, Raphael tried to start over again.  “Now look, I can check to see if the baby is angelic.  It’s a little hard because it’s still very early, but I can try.  So just... be calm, both of you.”  He turned to Chloe.  “Can I have your hand?”

“With pleasure,” she snapped with an angry look at Lucifer, as she placed her hand in Raphael’s.  Lucifer’s eyes narrowed at the contact between his lover and his brother, and his jaw clenched.

A soft blue light encompassed Chloe’s and Raphael’s hands, and the healer closed his eyes.  His brow furrowed as he concentrated.  Slowly the light faded, and he let go of the detective’s hand.  Glancing up at Lucifer he said, “It’s angelic.  No question.  It’s yours.”

Shock rippled through Lucifer.  He couldn’t believe it.  This wasn’t supposed to happen -- it couldn’t happen!  Dad made sure of it!  Why -- how...?!  Wait.... Dad.

“Bloody hell, is this Dad’s doing?” he snarled.  “That manipulative bastard -- is he toying with me yet again?”

Raphael stared at him.  “How could this be Dad’s doing?  He’s insane!  Besides, he was so insistent that the Old Gods be driven away, I doubt he’d have anything to do with this.”

Lucifer couldn’t comprehend it at all.  This was just too much for him.  Jumping up from the couch, he began to pace furiously.  “I don’t understand how this could happen,” he mumbled.  “I just can’t....  Bloody hell, I don’t  _ like _ children!”

Anger burned through Chloe, so great that she thought she’d go up in flames.  “Are you saying you don’t want this baby?   _ Your _ baby?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying!  Bloody hell, I’m making a hash out of this.  I’m saying... I’m saying --”

“What  _ are _ you saying?!” she yelled at him.

Raphael glanced back and forth between the two of them and started to back away from World War III.  Unnoticed, he slipped to the balcony and took off for home with a sigh of relief.

“I don’t know what I’m saying!” Lucifer yelled back.  “I can’t wrap my bloody head around this, Detective!”

Chloe’s chin came up at that, and her eyes burned with such intensity that the fallen angel caught his breath at the arousal that shot through him.  “And you think I can?!”

“Well, you already have a child, so yes, I think you can!” he cried.  “Why the bloody hell are we yelling?!”

“I don’t know!” she yelled back.  “But you said you don’t like children -- you like Trixie, don’t you?!”

“Your little one is different!  She’s --”

“What?” she snapped.   _ “She’s _ a child!”

For a long moment the fallen angel was silent, before he said simply, “She’s yours.”

That filled Chloe with so much warmth that she couldn’t hold onto her anger.  “Oh, Lucifer,” she said with a shake of her head, and began to chuckle.  

Lucifer gaped at the sudden change in emotions.  Completely caught off-guard, he sputtered a bit, paced a little more, then threw himself into his armchair and buried his head in his hands.  “I don’t understand you, Detective.  I just don’t bloody understand any of this.”

She said, “Don’t you see?  This baby will be mine too -- mine and yours.”

He looked up at that, feeling a warm flush shoot through his body that had nothing to do with his arousal to his lover.  It filled him with... happiness.  The thought of a little one --  _ his _ little one -- in Chloe’s arms made him want to simultaneously shout his joy to the world and run out of the room, screaming.  His mind just couldn’t accept the idea.  

He wasn’t supposed to have a child; Dad had made sure of it, so he never even thought of it.  Then again, he didn’t think he’d ever have anyone love him either, and yet here was Chloe....  And now a baby?  Happiness warred with fear and all sorts of strange, wondrous human emotions that he couldn’t identify.  He decided to just sit and gape at her.  It seemed the easiest thing to do.

Seeing his expression, Chloe laughed, rose out of the couch and went to sit in his lap.  “Are you happy?” she asked.

“Yes.  No.  I... I don’t know, love.  I don’t know what I’m feeling right now,” he whispered quietly as he brought his arms around her and held her tightly.  “I... I....”

“What, Lucifer?”

“Bloody hell, I know I sound like a complete prat right now,” Lucifer said.  “It’s just that....”

Chloe glanced up at him.  “What, Lucifer?”

He looked down at her, and she was surprised to see fear on his face.  “What if I turn into my dad?”

Comprehension flooded through Chloe; she hugged Lucifer hard.  “You won’t,” she said fiercely.  “You will never be like him.”

“But you heard that bastard father of mine, Detective.  I  _ am _ like him.  Bloody hell, what’s going to happen to this baby?  What am I going to end up doing to it?”

Giving him a small shake, she said, “You won’t do anything to it, but you’ll give it love, Lucifer, because that’s the kind of man you are.”

He shook his head.  “You don’t know that, Detective.  I might be even worse than him.”

“You won’t be.”  Chloe turned his face toward hers with a gentle hand on his cheek.  “You won’t be, Lucifer.  I won’t let you.”

Tucking her head under his chin, Lucifer held her tightly to him.  “You make me a better man,” he whispered.  “I am so lucky to have you.”

“Damned right you are, and you better remember that,” she said with a gentle smile.  Looking up, she gave him a kiss filled with desire and longing.  

He had missed this -- oh, how he had missed this.  Lucifer’s head went into a haze as he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.  His hands roved over her body and started to undress her.  It had been so long -- a week had never felt so long.  In his passion, he completely forgot about her heart... until he heard her sharp intake of breath and felt her shrink away from him.

Loosening his grip, he cried, “Chloe!  I didn’t mean --”  Then, just as quickly, he pulled her in tight as he rubbed her back and tried to ease her agony.  

Giving a little laugh, she said breathily, “I’m okay, my love.  Just... just a little spasm.”  Her words belied the fact that she clutched at him hard in pain.  “I am okay.”

“Bloody hell, love....  We can’t do this.  I’m killing you.”

“No, Lucifer.  I’m fine.”  She tried to pull him down to her for another kiss, but he resisted.

“No.  I’m not doing this,” he said.  He sprang to his feet, practically dumping her on the floor.  “I can’t do this.”

“Lucifer!” she yelped.

“Oh -- sorry, love,” he said distractedly as he helped her to her feet, then quickly sidled away from her to go to the bar and pour himself a drink.

Chloe gave him a puzzled look and went to join him, but when he saw her approach, he put the alcohol down and started backing away.  “Lucifer...?” she asked.

“I need to get you well, love,” he said as he began avoiding her.  “I want to have you in my bed, beside me, but not at the risk of your life.  I can’t do this.”

“It will get better,” she said, approaching him, but he backed away, keeping the piano between them.

“Stay back, Detective.  I’ve made up my mind.”

The thought of the Devil actually trying to run away from her brought a bubble of laughter to Chloe’s lips.  “Lucifer, do you know how ridiculous you look, avoiding me like this?”

He didn’t share her amusement.  “It’s the only way to keep my hands off of you, love.  And I’ll keep avoiding you --” he nearly tripped on his armchair as he kept moving back, “ -- until I find a way to get you well again.”

The smile fell off of Chloe’s face as she saw he was heading for the balcony.  “Lucifer, no -- stay!”

That made him pause for a moment, and she saw the torture in his eyes.  “I want to.  Bloody hell, Detective, you have no idea how much I want to.”

“Then stay.  It will be all right.”

Shaking his head, he started moving again.  “No, it won’t, because you bloody well know I can’t keep my hands off of you.”

“Lucifer,” she said sharply, making him pause once again.  “You heard Raphael.  There’s nothing anyone can do.  Now please.  I have to leave soon -- I don’t want our night to end like this.”

“I’m sorry, love.  I can’t.  Forgive me.”

With that, the fallen angel turned and sprinted for the balcony.  Chloe chased after him but before she could reach him, he had jumped over the edge of the building.  As she reached the clear railing, she saw his winged figure soaring off in the distance.  

“Damn you, Lucifer!” she yelled at him, but he did not stop.

 

 


	2. Quest for a Cure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my most excellent beta, ScooterThyme! Thanks for all of your hard work!!

 

 

The next day, Lucifer walked into Memories Photo Lab alone.  He felt awful about abandoning Chloe the night before, but he couldn’t be around her without touching her, and touching her was no longer an option.  Perched atop one of the skyscrapers in Los Angeles, he had looked out at the city lights until he was sure she had left the flat.  It had torn him apart, leaving her like that.  Her voice telling him to stay haunted him.

And as for the baby... well, he couldn’t think about that now.  His head would explode.  He had to concentrate on one thing at a time, and his first priority was Chloe.  If he didn’t get her well, there wouldn’t even  _ be _ a baby.  He decided to believe that Raphael was wrong and pretend that he hadn’t heard he was going to be a dad.  If he ignored it enough, it would just go away.  Yes, yes, that was the solution.  It would just go away.  Maybe.  Hopefully.

The bell rang out as he opened the door and walked in.  Ray Kamiya, the old shop owner, popped his head out from the back room and smiled.  “Hello, Mister Morningstar!  Come in!”

“Hello, Ray,” Lucifer greeted as the man walked past him to put up the “will return in an hour” sign in the front window.

“You’re alone today,” the old man said as he led the taller man to the back room.  “Have a seat.  I’ve just made --”

“Some tea.  Yes, I know,” Lucifer said with a crooked smile.  He sat down on one of the creaky old chairs, his mind a million miles away.  Ray brought the teapot and set a cup and some cookies down beside him.

Pouring the brew, the old man said, “I wasn’t expecting to see you alone today.”

That made the tall man look up with surprise.  “You usually know everything in advance.  Were you expecting the detective here, as well?”

Ray took a seat across from him.  “Well, yes, but future memories change -- it’s a very fluid situation.  Things are no longer well with you and the detective, yes?”

“Right.  You could say that.”

“She is in a lot of pain, isn’t she?”

Lucifer sat up with a cocked head and a furrowed brow.  “You know about that?”

“I tried to speak to her about it the last time I saw you both.  Yes, I saw it on her face.”  Ray sighed, then gave a wry smile.  “She’s a stubborn one -- always was... but if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have set her heart on you.  I warned her she doesn’t have all of her powers anymore.  She can’t be taking chances, especially with the baby --”

“Bloody hell, you know about that too?”

Laughing at the fallen angel’s astonishment, Ray said, “Mister Morningstar, please remember where you are!  Of course I know!  But that’s all in jeopardy now.  As I mentioned, the future is fluid.  She did something no one ever expected.”

“My bloody heart.  She traded my bloody heart for hers,” Lucifer groaned as he ran a hand down his face.  

The old man nodded.  “Yes.  It’s something that would not have been a problem if she was still a goddess, but she is no longer that.”

A deep sigh racked the tall man’s frame.  “Is there a way to fix it?”

“Yes.”

That had Lucifer sitting up in his chair, his eyes aglow with hope.  “Yes?!  Bloody hell, why didn’t you say so earlier?  How?”

“It’s not easy --”

“Right.  I’ll do whatever it takes, Ray.  Just tell me.”

“You have to find her brother.”

The fallen angel’s eyebrows rose.  “Her... brother?  The detective doesn’t have a brother.”

“No, not here.”  Ray looked skyward.  “There.”

Lucifer’s eyes followed the older man’s to the ceiling.  “Oh.”  Sighing gustily, he leaned back in his chair, making it creak threateningly.  “Well, so much for that bloody idea.  I have no idea where they are.”

“I told you it wasn’t easy.”

“So you did.”  He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.  “What about that bloody storm god, Hal GeWitter?  He’s from there -- maybe he can go get her brother and bring him back --”

“Mister GeWitter cannot travel the planes, and he wouldn’t be welcome back there, anyway.  I believe his sister is still quite angry with him.”  The old man shook his head.  “No, it has to be you.  It cannot be anyone else, Mister Morningstar.  It’s your suffering that has caused Detective Decker’s condition.  You are the only one who can undo it.  Her brother can help ease the pain she feels and show you the way to unwind the suffering around her soul.”

“So I have to bring him back here?”

“Taking her there would be better.”

“Right.”  The fallen angel sat up straight and took a sip of tea.  “So... how do I find this brother of hers?”

“I’m sure one of your kind knows which plane we were exiled to.  Find someone who can tell you, and then go there.  But be careful when you go -- the Family doesn’t have good feelings toward your kind.”

“I can bloody well imagine,” Lucifer muttered as he munched on a cookie, then finished his tea.  Taking a deep breath, he said, “Thank you.  I appreciate the help.”

As he stood, Ray went and pulled an old photo from a file cabinet.  He brought it to Lucifer, and said, “Take a look at this.  I can’t let you keep it, but it will help you in your quest to find the right plane.”

Giving the old man a sharp look, the Devil took the photo and studied it carefully.  It was a photo of the ocean -- water everywhere, with a group of islands in the distance.  “It looks similar to Hawaii.”

The other man chuckled.  “I suppose it does at that.  Good luck, Mister Morningstar.  Take care of Detective Decker.  Be sure to let her know of your plans.”

“Bloody hell, I can’t -- I can’t keep my hands off of her.  I’ll end up killing her,” Lucifer said sadly.  

“Have faith, Mister Morningstar.  Talking won’t kill her, nor will hand-holding.  Now shoo, I have a business to run,” he said with a wink and a smile.

Seeing the Old God filled Lucifer with hope.  It eased the helplessness he felt.  “Thank you, Ray.”

“No, thank  _ you, _ Mister Morningstar.  And be careful.”

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Arriving at Chloe’s house around lunchtime, he found that no one was home.  It was disappointing, but it couldn’t be helped.  Perhaps the detective and her spawn went for lunch after picking up the little one from the sleepover.  There was no sense in staying outside, so he let himself in and sat down on the living room couch to wait.  

The house was too quiet -- it lacked the pitter-patter of the little human’s footsteps as she dashed here and there... and the sound of of the detective, walking around, doing her chores.  Bloody hell, he really missed them.  Rubbing his face with frustration, he leaned back against the backrest and closed his eyes.  Before he knew it, he was asleep.

The slam of the front door awoke him with a start.  Looking over, he saw Chloe and Trixie at the entrance.  Neither of them had seen him yet.  Standing up, he straightened his clothes and turned toward them.  Trixie caught sight of him first.

“Lucifer!” she cried as she ran toward him, barreling into him at full speed and giving him a huge hug.  

“Hello, child,” he said with a hug back, then glanced at her mother.  He couldn’t read her expression -- not that he was very good at that anyway; human emotions always gave him trouble.  Straightening, he said, “Hello, my dear.”

She walked up to him slowly, still with that unreadable expression on her face.  “Trixie, why don’t you put your gear away?” she told the little girl, still not looking away from the fallen angel.

“Okay,” the little girl said and dashed off, completely oblivious of the sudden tension in the room.

“Lucifer,” she greeted in a serious tone.

“Detective,” he replied cautiously.

Without warning her hand shot out, slapping him across the face.  _  “That _ is for ditching me last night,” she snapped.  And then she pulled his head down and kissed him so passionately that he thought his legs were going to go out from beneath him.  “And  _ that _ is for coming today.”

He saw the wince she tried to hide, and backed up a step.  “I... I....”

“I don’t know if what Raphael said is true,” she said, “but if I’m not going to get better, then I don’t want to waste a second.”

“Right.  Look, love, about that --”

“I just need you.”  Chloe looked up at him with a coy smile, took his hand and beckoned him to sit next to her.  “Sit next to me, Lucifer.”

The fallen angel couldn’t resist her command.  Bloody hell, she knew he couldn’t say no to her, not when she gave him that “come hither” look!  He perched on the edge of the couch, leaving a space between them.  Chloe immediately closed the gap and snuggled up next to him.  Instead of putting his arms around her, he gripped one of her hands tightly.  Ray said handholding wouldn’t cause pain, didn’t he?  Biting his lower lip, he hoped the old man was right.

“I... I came to tell you --” he began, but she silenced him with a finger on his lips.

“Shhh.  Let’s just enjoy our time together.”

Just then there was a knock on the door.  

“Seriously?” Chloe groaned as she got up to answer the door.  Leaning against the couch backrest, Lucifer wondered who it could be.  Probably the douche....

Sure enough, Dan stood on the porch.

“Dan --” Chloe started.

“Chloe, I’m happy to see you’re back home.  Listen, can we talk?”  He pushed his way past her into the house.

“About what?  We have nothing left to talk about.  I want you to sign the divorce papers.”

“I’m not going to do that.  Look, I know I’ve done some things, but Trixie’s my daughter and --” The man suddenly caught sight of Lucifer as he stood up and made his presence known.  “Lucifer.”

“Detective Douche.”

“I saw your car outside, but I was hoping you would be off playing with Trixie somewhere.  I want to talk to Chloe alone.”

The fallen angel sauntered over to the pair with his hands in his pockets, a grin on his face.  “Right.  Well, as you can see, I’m right here.  And anything you say to the detective, surely you can say to me as well?”  He put a possessive arm around Chloe’s waist, which she leaned into unconsciously.  “Seeing as how we’re a couple, now.”

“Really, Chloe?  This is how you want to play this?” Dan asked the blonde woman. 

“Look, Dan, just say what you want to say,” she responded.

Taking a deep breath, he said, “I want us to start over.  To try again.  I’ll be a good husband -- a trustworthy one, I promise --”

“No.”

“But Chloe --”

“You heard her, Detective Douche.  She said no,” Lucifer said.  “And now it’s time for you to go.”

Dan laughed.  “Really?  What are you gonna do if I don’t?  Hit me again?”

“That can be arranged --”

“Stop it, both of you,” Chloe snapped.  “Dan, you need to give up and sign the divorce papers.”

The other man looked at the detective with a stubborn expression on his face.  “No.  I’m not divorcing you so that you can run off with this playboy.  He’ll just get bored and dump you in the long run --”

Lucifer’s fist shot out, punching Dan across the face.  He staggered back, then lunged at Lucifer with a snarl.  They two men grappled for a moment, before Lucifer threw him across the room.

“I’m not the one who got bored, you bloody sod!” roared the fallen angel with rage.

“Stop it!” Chloe yelled as Dan wiped the blood from his mouth and pulled himself to his feet.

“I’ll stop out of respect for you, Chloe,” he snarled, “But the only thing that’s gonna make me stop trying is if you marry this son of a bitch, and we both know  _ that _ will never happen.”

“If that’s what it takes for you to leave her alone, then I’ll marry her,” Lucifer snapped back. 

_ What?! _ a part of his brain said.   _ What did I just say?!   _

Meanwhile another part started cheering madly at the idea, crowing,  _ What a splendid idea!  I love her, so why didn’t I think of that sooner? _

Dan laughed contemptuously.  “You?!  Marry?!  What a joke!”

“Do you think I’m joking?!”  

_ She’ll be mine forever!  _ his brain continued to cheer.

“Stop it!  Shut up, both of you!” Chloe turned to Dan.  “You.  Get out.”  Then she turned to Lucifer.  “You stand down.”

“But --”

“Lucifer.   _ Stand down.” _

“Bloody hell.”  With a big sigh, Lucifer glared at the other man as he started for the door.

“I’m not giving up, Chloe,” Dan said.  “Trixie’s my daughter, and I’ll be damned if I leave her and you with this -- this --”

“Dan, you have to leave,” Chloe said as she followed him to the entryway.

He turned suddenly, desperation in his eyes.  “Look, Chloe, don’t make me play my last hand -- it won’t be pretty.  Let’s just get back together, huh?”

“Your last hand?  Dan, are you threatening me?” she snapped as her eyes narrowed.  Bristling, she grabbed his shirt and started pushing him toward the entryway.  Lucifer leaped ahead, opening the door as she shoved Trixie’s father over the threshold.

“Of course not, Chloe, but... just give me another chance --” he whined.

“Goodbye, Dan,” Chloe said as she slammed the door in his face.  For a long moment she was silent as she fumed.  Lucifer could feel the fury coming off her in waves... which was actually quite arousing, and had him eyeing her with desire.

Finally turning to the falling angel, she looked at him with an angry look on her face.  “Lucifer, what the hell?!”

Lucifer blinked with surprise.  He hadn’t expected her to be upset with him....  “What?”

“Really, Lucifer?  Really?!” she snapped.  “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I don’t know what --”

“Marry me?!”

He blinked.  “Right.  I don’t see why not, if it makes him leave you alone --”

Chloe threw up her hands in frustration.  “God, Lucifer, sometimes you can be so --”

“I don’t see what Dad has to do with this --”

“Shut up!”  She paced furiously in front of him before she stopped and poked him in the chest.  “Do you really think that I would marry you just to get Dan to leave me alone?”

He was completely confused.  “Well --”

“Ugh!  For god’s sake --”

“Bloody hell, Detective, why do you keep bringing Dad up?”

Frustration was in her every movement as she put one hand on her hip and the other rubbed her forehead.  “I don’t want you to marry me if you’re goaded into it, Lucifer!”

“But I’m not --”  Lucifer stared at her, uncomprehending.  

Taking a deep breath, Chloe said, “I think you need to leave.”

Panic overtook Lucifer.  He didn’t want to leave like this.  “Wait --”

“I can’t believe the only reason why you would want to marry me is to get Dan off my back,” she muttered as she glared at him.

“No, wait --”

“You have to go.  Now.”

“But --”

_ “Go.” _

His heart sank in his chest.  She was upset, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why.  A horrible weight pressed down on him, and he started feeling ill.  What could he say to fix this?  But she wasn’t in any mood to listen now.  He made one last attempt as he walked out onto the entry porch.

“Detective --”

“Goodbye, Lucifer.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”  She shut the door in his face.

For a long moment he stood there, staring at the door as if he could see through it.  He had wanted to tell her -- well, it was too late now.  Hopefully he wouldn’t be gone too long, and perhaps by then she would have calmed down.  Once he knew which plane her brother was on, he’d come back for her.

“Goodbye, love,” he said softly, before turning and walking away.


	3. Therapy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! Thank you, you make my work shine!

 

 

“I don’t understand it,” Lucifer said to Doctor Linda Martin.  His chest had hurt quite a bit after his encounter with the detective, so immediately after leaving her, he headed to Doctor Linda’s house.  Banging on the door until she had answered, he then proceeded to drag her to her office.  She was obviously unhappy about it, but he really didn’t care.

“So let me get this straight.  You told Chloe that you would marry her to get Dan off of her back?” Doctor Linda asked as she sat down across from him in her chair.  There was incredulity in her voice.

“Correct,” the fallen angel said as he lay down on the couch.  “But I don’t understand why she got so bloody upset.  I mean... I’m offering to marry her.  Me!  Lucifer Morningstar!  Bloody perfection!  What more could she want?”

Linda ran a hand over her face.  Sometimes Lucifer could be incredibly dense and naive.  “Lucifer, women don’t want to marry someone just to get rid of another person.  There are a number of reasons why people get married, but the most important reason is because they love each other.”

“But I do....”  He broke off.

“Have you told her?”

He gave her a wicked grin. “When we have sex....”

“But what about other times?  Have you told her at any other time when you’re not having sex?”

His silence was answer enough.  The therapist sighed.  “Lucifer, do you love Chloe?”  The tall man pulled himself up and sat there silently, his jaw working as he searched for the right words to say.  Finally he settled for a single nod.  Linda asked, “How do you feel about marrying her?”

“I... I....”  He thought hard.  “A part of me is... shocked I would even offer.  I mean, I sleep with women -- and men --” he added with a wink, “and I have a lifestyle to maintain.  Bloody hell -- I  _ am _ the Devil, after all.”

“And the other part?”

Pausing for a moment, he finally admitted, “The other part of me is overjoyed at the thought of marrying the detective -- well, obviously not with Dad overlooking the whole bloody mess, but....  The thought of having her all to myself for eternity is.... “  His face grew soft.  “Heaven.”

Linda leaned forward.  “So tell me, Lucifer, when was the last time you slept with anyone other than Chloe?”

Lucifer stared at the therapist.  “Oh.  Ah.  Not... not for a very long time.”

“Do you have any inclination to sleep with anyone else?”

“Bloody hell, no!”

Linda blinked at his vehemence.  “Well, that’s a whole different attitude than you had from before....”

Lucifer shrugged, looking away.

“Why don’t you have any inclination to sleep with anyone else?”

“I... I don’t know,” he said.  “I just can’t bring myself to have sex with anyone other than the detective.”

“Ah.”  Linda smiled.  Well, this was progress.  “That’s because you love Chloe.”

“What?!”  Lucifer looked horrified.  “You mean love has destroyed my libido?!”

Nudging her glasses up with her thumb and forefinger, the therapist pinched the bridge of her nose.  “No.  It means that you want to be with someone who truly cares about you, instead of having empty relationships.  Tell me, if Chloe was to sleep with other men, would you be okay with it?”

Her client looked even more horrified than before, if that was possible.  “Absolutely not!  The Devil does not share!  And the detective would not do that, anyway.”

“And now, neither will you.  Don’t you see?  You’re maturing -- you would rather have one real relationship than a million empty ones.”

Lucifer stared at his hands and said nothing.  Was that true?  Could he have a real relationship with only one woman?  Was that even possible?  Thinking about some of the past women he had in his life, like the three Brittanys, he tried to imagine sleeping with them now.  He... couldn’t.  In fact, the thought made him feel... ill.   Curious.  It shouldn’t have -- he was the Devil.  Sleeping with other women shouldn’t have been a problem.

“It’s a good thing, Lucifer.  Believe me,” Linda said.  “Now then, it seems to me that you want to marry Chloe but your mindset of being the Devil is holding you back.  There is nothing wrong with admitting that you love someone, Lucifer.  You’re lucky you’ve found someone -- many people don’t.  I believe you already know what you want -- you just have to throw away this idea that you’re the Devil, accept that you love Chloe, and proceed from there.”

“But... I  _ am _ the Devil.”

Not this again, Linda thought.  “Look, Lucifer, when you love someone, there is nothing wrong with wanting to marry that person.  This Devil persona is holding you back.  You have to let it go.”

“But I am --”

“The Devil.  Yes, I know.”  The therapist wanted to throw something at her client’s head to stop his delusions, but refrained.  “If you and Chloe love each other, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to marry her.”

“But... if that’s true, why did the detective throw me out of the house?  She says she loves me....”

Linda sighed as she rubbed her forehead.  His incredible naivete gave her a headache at times.  “Okay.  Let me put this in a way you’ll understand.  Imagine an old flame.”

Lucifer waggled his eyebrows.  “I can think of several.”

“Okay, pick one.  Now say this woman is hitting on you constantly.”

“Ooh, I think I like this scenario,” he said with a grin, although in the back of his mind he was uneasy at the thought.

“But remember, you love Chloe, so you don’t want this woman hitting on you.”

“Right.  Very well.”  His brow furrowed as he tried to see the scene in his mind.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t that difficult to imagine.  In fact, the thought of an old flame hitting on him sent distaste coursing through his veins. 

“How would you feel if Chloe told you the only reason why she’s with you is to keep that other woman from hitting on you?”

The distaste turned into displeasure and he frowned.  “No.  No, the detective would never do that.”

“But what if she did?  How would you feel?”

“I.... No.  I don’t like this.”  The tall man stood up and paced a bit with frustration.  “No, she would never say that.  She’s not like that.”

“But isn’t that what you just did to her?  You never told her you loved her, and you said that you’d marry her to keep Dan away.  Isn’t it the same thing?”

“No!  No, it’s not because -- because....”  Shock reverberated through Lucifer.  He felt sick as he sank back down on the couch.  “Oh, bloody hell.... What have I done?”  Holding his head in his hands, he chanced a peek at Linda.  “How can I fix this?”

“You have to tell her you love her -- and not just when you’re having sex.”

“But -- she knows I love her....”

The therapist frowned.  “Don’t take her for granted, Lucifer.  She needs to hear the words.”

Lucifer shifted uncomfortably.  “Very well.  But I have to leave and find her brother --”

Linda was confused at the sudden change of subject.  “What?  Why?”

“Chloe is... sick.  She needs her brother to help her get better.”  The tall man straightened.  “I need to find him before it’s too late.”

“She needs a transfusion or transplant or something?”

Lucifer didn’t answer; he merely said, “I have to leave right away.”

“Have you told her you’re leaving?”

“No --”

“Lucifer, you need to talk to Chloe.  These kinds of misunderstandings will multiply in size, with time.  This isn’t something you should leave --”

The fallen angel was only half-listening and only caught the tail end of the sentence.  He instantly brightened at what he perceived was Linda’s advice.  “You’re right, I  _ should _ leave it!  I’m sure the detective will understand.  Once she’s better we can clear this whole mess up,” he said as he stood up.  “I have to go.  Thank you, you’re the best!”

“But Lucifer --”

The door slammed shut behind him as he rushed off.

“What… What just happened?” she said to herself.

  
  


 

________________________________________________

  
  


 

Deciding that there was one thing he  _ could _ do to make things right with Chloe before he left, Lucifer rushed home.  It was too late to talk to her face to face -- not that she would listen right now, anyway -- but he could do this for her.  Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he found a number on his speed dial and called.

“Hello, Judge Markham?  Lucifer Morningstar....  Yes, it  _ has _ been a long time.  I’m calling about that favor you owe me....  Yes....  No, it’s something very simple.  There’s a divorce I would like you to expedite....  No, the husband hasn’t signed the papers....  Really?  Splendid!  The name of the applicant?  Chloe Decker....”

The fallen angel smiled devilishly as he hung up the phone.  Now Detective Douche was out of the picture, for sure!  He just had to make things right with the detective -- but that would have to wait.

Taking the elevator to the flat just below his, Lucifer went to Maze and Amenadiel’s apartment.  His demon hadn’t been in the bar in LUX -- ever since she hooked up with Amenadiel, she wasn’t tending bar as much -- so there was a chance she was taking a break with her boyfriend.  The fallen angel grinned.  Maze did love a quickie, from time to time.  He banged his fist on the door.

Sure enough, a disheveled Amenadiel answered the door.  Lucifer smirked.  It seemed that more often than not, Amenadiel was busy in bed with Maze.  It amused him to no end to see his straight-laced brother so hedonistic.

“Hello, bro,” he greeted.

The angel gave his brother an irritated look.  “What do you want, Luci?  I’m busy.”

“Really?  With what?  A little naked cuddle-time with my bartender?  And in the middle of the day, no less!” he said with a wide, wicked grin.

“Amenadiel!  Tell whoever it is to beat it and come back to bed, or I’ll punish you!” Maze yelled from inside the apartment.  

Lucifer’s eyebrows went up at that.  Looking thrilled, he said, “Ooooh, punishment!  I like the sound of that!”

“I gotta go, Luci.”  The angel started to close the door, but Lucifer stuck his foot in the gap, preventing its closure.  

“No, no, no, my dear brother, I have a question to ask you first.”

Amenadiel sighed.  “Make it fast.”

“The Old Gods....  Do you remember which plane they were banished to?”

The angel’s eyes widened and he gave his brother a puzzled glance.  “What’s this all about?  Something going on with Chloe?”

Lucifer let out a gusty sigh as he rolled his eyes.  “Just answer the question, if you please.”

Amenadiel thought for a moment.  “Luci, there were so many gods we banished, and to different planes.  I have no idea who got put where.”

The fallen angel gaped at his brother.  “I thought... I thought there was only one group of Old Gods.”

“No.  Father wanted them all gone.  There were a great many of them.”

Rubbing his forehead in frustration, Lucifer grumbled, “Bloody hell....  Do you know where I can find out who got sent where?”

Amenadiel thought a moment.  “Metatron.  He’d have records of everything we did back then.  He could tell you, but....”

“But?”

“You can’t see him.  You’re banished from Heaven, remember?  And he definitely won’t come down here.”

Lucifer thought a moment, then said, “Do me a favor, bro -- call Rafe for me.  Tell him it’s urgent.  I’ll be upstairs.”

“By Heavenly Father, Luci, what am I, your personal cell phone or something?” Amenadiel complained.

“Oh Maze, I need to talk to you!” Lucifer started to holler into the apartment.  

“Shut up, you ass!” hissed the angel as he glanced behind him to see if his demon lover had risen.  Seeing that the coast was clear, he said, “Fine.  I’ll call Rafe, damn you.  Now go away!”

A smirk played on the fallen angel’s face as his brother slammed the door shut.  It was so much fun rattling his brother’s cage while getting him to do what he wanted.  With a laugh, the Devil headed to the elevator.  By the time he reached his flat, Raphael was on his balcony.  Waving to his brother, Lucifer jogged up to him.  

“What’s wrong, is it the baby?” Raphael asked.  That stopped Lucifer dead in his tracks.  

The baby.  He had forgotten all about that... or was trying to, at least.

“Ah... no.”  Looking a bit uncomfortable, he said, “Actually, I’m trying not to think of that just yet.”

“Seriously, Lucifer?!  You have to start thinking about it.  You’re going to be a dad, after all!”

The fallen angel started getting an unsettled, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.  “Right.  Let’s not discuss that now.”

Raphael looked puzzled.  “So then it’s Chloe?  Is she okay?”

“Yes, well... yes.  As good as can be expecting, given your prognosis.”  Lucifer glared at his brother for a moment, then gave himself a shake to keep himself on track.  “No, I asked you here for another reason.”

The healer’s eyebrows shot up.  “Another reason?  And what would that be?”

Lucifer put his arm around his brother’s shoulder, and said with a grin, “I have to break into Metatron’s record room....  And you, dear brother, are going to help me.”

  
  



	4. Breaking into Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-big thank you to the best beta in the world, ScooterThyme! You make my work shine! Thank you!!

 

 

“Oh, no. No, no, no.”  

Raphael started shaking his head violently.  “I am not helping you, Lucifer.  No.”

“Oh, come on, Rafe!  Don’t be such a killjoy!”  Lucifer turned on the charm.  “You know I wouldn’t ask you, if it wasn’t of the utmost importance....”

“You promised that you would stay out of Heaven as long as everyone left Chloe alone!”

“Correct.”  The Devil gave his brother a charming grin.  “Now, as far as I can see, you haven’t left Chloe alone, so --”

Raphael gaped at him.  “I’m your loophole?!”

“Precisely,” Lucifer said with a wide smile, but then grew serious.  “But I’d rather not put the detective’s life in any more danger, so I’d like to keep my visit upstairs hush-hush.”

The angel eyed his brother suspiciously.  “What is going on, Luci?  You better tell me everything or I’m not going to help you.”

“You best come in, then,” Lucifer invited.  While Raphael made himself comfortable on the couch, his fallen brother headed to the bar and poured them some Scotch.  Walking back to the living room, he offered a glass to his brother, who declined.  With a shrug, Lucifer took his customary seat in his armchair and drank one shot, then the other, before placing both glasses on the coffee table.  Leaning forward, he planted his elbows on his thighs as he laced his fingers in front of him.

“Right.  I need to know which Old Gods got sent where.”

Understanding lit up Raphael’s face.  “So this  _ is _ about Chloe.”

“Correct.”  Lucifer straightened.  “It’s of the utmost importance that I find someone.”

“Someone?”  Curiosity prompted Raphael to ask, “Who?”

Lucifer waved him off.  “That isn’t important.  What is important is that I get into Metatron’s bloody archives.  I don’t know where any of the Old Gods got sent, seeing as how I had already Fallen, but Metatron should have written all of that down.  That bloody sod is the most meticulous fusspot I’ve ever known.”

The angel shook his head.  “That’s impossible, Luci.  You know how Metatron is -- he doesn’t let  _ anyone _ touch his records, or even get into his archive room, for that matter.  Do you really think he’s going to let you come within twenty cubits of his books?”

“And that’s why I have you, dear brother,” his fallen brother said, with a wicked grin.  “You need to help me.  After all, Chloe is your friend, is she not?  You do want to help her, don’t you?”

For a long moment, Raphael just stared at him incredulously, then ran a frustrated hand through his hair.  With a sharp look at his brother, he said, “You know I could get suspended for this?”

“Come now, they wouldn’t dare -- you’re the best healer they have, and an archangel to boot.”

The healer shot a look skyward then nodded.  “Okay, I’m in.  But I’m only doing this for Chloe, you ass.”

Lucifer beamed triumphantly.  “Understood.”   
  


 

________________________________________________

 

 

Raphael knocked on Sachiel’s apartment door, hoping she would be in.  When there was no answer, he knocked again, a little harder.  He heard some movement from inside, and was finally rewarded when the door opened.

“Raphael!” the black haired angel said with surprise.  

“Hi, Sachi.”  With a deep breath, Raphael put on his most charming smile. He didn’t have an ounce of charisma when compared to his fallen brother, but he hoped it would work.  “Listen, Sister, I need your help.  Can I come in?”

“Of course.”  She opened the door wide.  With a furtive glance around, Raphael slipped in, closing the door behind him.  “What’s this all about, Brother?” she asked.

“I need a favor.”

“You helped Lucifer after I.... well, I owe you.  What is it you need?” Sachiel asked.

“I need you to take Metatron out and keep him busy for a couple of hours... maybe three,” Raphael said.  He cringed as he watched her eyebrows climb.

“Metatron?”  Her eyes were distressed as she looked at him.  “But he’s such a... a....”

“Stick in the mud?” Raphael supplied helpfully.

His sober sister said, “Yes, that... and a pompous idiot.  Why do you need me to keep him busy?”

“The less you know the better --”

“What kind of trouble are you in?”  Worry was evident in Sachiel’s voice, although she looked as calm as ever.

“No trouble, no trouble,” he reassured her.

“Then why?”

Crap, he wasn’t going to be able to get out of explaining -- Sachiel could be persistent, if nothing else -- but he didn’t want to get her into trouble.  Rubbing a hand over his face, he guided her to her couch.  “Can we...?”

After they sat, she asked, “So what is going on?”

Raphael grimaced.  “The less you know the better --”

“You said that.”  Very calmly Sachiel said, “I can pull whatever it is you’re planning out of your head, you know.  You may as well tell me.”

Raphael looked at her sharply.  He could never tell whether she was joking or not, so he decided to take her at face value.  “Okay.  Luci needs to know which Old Gods went where, and the only place that information resides -- other than Father’s head -- is Metatron’s archives.  You know that Luci’s been exiled again, so he’s not supposed to come up here, but he says he really needs the information.”

Sachiel said nothing, merely nodded, which Raphael took as a good sign... maybe.

“I have to somehow get Lucifer into the record room without anyone knowing, but you know Metatron,” he continued.  “He won’t leave that room unless....”

“Unless a female asks him to,” she finished.  

“Yeah.”  Rubbing the back of his neck, he cast a hopeful glance at his sister.  “I know he’s... odd, and he’s going to drive you crazy when he goes on and on about how great he is, but could you...?”

There was no hesitation.  “I owe Lucifer this -- and you, too,” she said.  “I’ll do it.  You’ll both be careful?”

Relief flooded his features and he smiled.  “We’ll be careful.  Thanks, Sachi.”

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Raphael met Lucifer on the Western Edge of Heaven, in the wilderness where no one would suspect the Devil would be hiding.  Making sure no one was following, the healer called out to his brother.

“Lucifer!  Did you roll in the mud like I told you?”

“Bloody hell, yes,” the fallen angel said as he came out of the bushes.  His wings were colored a dirty brown, and he grimaced unhappily as he looked at them.  “I’ll never get the mud out,” he lamented.

“Well, your white wings would have given you away for sure,” the healer said as he handed him the extra set of robes that he had brought.  “Everyone knows the Archangels -- especially  _ you. _  At least now you’ll look like a guardian, and you resemble Vehuel closely enough that under the cover of darkness you should be able to pass for him.”

Lucifer sniffed disdainfully.  “I’m  _ much _ better looking.  And far taller.”

Raphael rolled his eyes.  “Whatever.  Sachi’s going to get Metatron out of the way as soon as the moon rises,” the healer said as Lucifer shrugged on the robes.  “That’s not long from now.  We have to hurry.”

“How are you going to get me in?”

“Only Father knows,” Raphael said with another roll of the eyes.  “You couldn’t dye your hair or something?  You would have looked more like Osmadiel....”

Lucifer gave him an annoyed look.  “Right.  As if being blonde is really going to hide who I am.”

“Well, it would definitely help.  Try to slouch -- you look too... regal.”

The fallen angel rolled his eyes.  “Bloody hell, I  _ am _ slouching....”

“Lose a third of a cubit in height, will you?” Raphael snapped as he pulled the hood over Lucifer’s head and adjusted the robes around his wings.  “Heavenly Father, if only you could make your wings look a little smaller, as well....”

“Do you want me on my bloody hands and knees?!” the Devil ground out between his clenched teeth.

“If it will get you in, then yes, you ass!  Remember, this was  _ your _ idea.  Now come on!”

As the pair started walking toward the Western Gate, Raphael starting talking about nothing.  Lucifer was amazed at how his brother could keep up a conversation about nothing for so long.  He added noncommittal responses, trying to speak as little as possible, as they started to pass the guards.  Everything seemed well enough, until one of the angels hailed them.

“Hold.  Greetings, Archangel Raphael.  Who is that with you?”

Raphael turned to the guard, feigning surprise.  “Oh, Sentry Geburatiel!  Surely you remember Guardian Vehuel?  He’s been on Earth for such a long time, but I didn’t realize it had been that long --” 

Lucifer had to give Raphael points -- the healer certainly was an accomplished liar when he needed to be.  Maybe  _ he _ should have been the one in Hell, instead...?  That thought pleased the fallen angel, until he realized that then Chloe would have fallen in love with Rafe instead of him... and that made him feel sick.  Swallowing hard, he frowned instead.

“Guardian Vehuel?”  The guard Geburatiel looked at Lucifer suspiciously in the darkening night.  “There’s something about him that doesn’t seem quite right --”

“Really?  What about him?” Raphael asked.

“He reminds me of someone else....”

The healer laughed and threw his arm around Lucifer’s shoulder.  “Oh, Vehuel gets that all the time.  Perhaps you’re thinking of Lahabiel?  Or Dubbiel?  They do look similar.”

A long, tense moment passed before Geburatiel nodded.  “Yes, that must be it.  Go on through.”

“Thank you,” Raphael said, giving the guard his best smile as they walked past.  Once they were far enough away, the healer’s shoulders slumped.  “Thank Father, that was close....”

Lucifer glanced at the sky.  The moon was just starting to rise.  “Bloody hell, we have to hurry.”

They made their way through the winding streets of the Silver City, reaching the archive building just as Sachiel came out, arm in arm with Metatron.  Her face was impassive as ever, but her eyes darted here and there.  When she caught sight of them, she gave an almost imperceptible nod, then focused all of her attention on the companion.  The two brothers watched them walk away, before Raphael turned to Lucifer.

“Okay, she’ll give us two hours for sure, three at the most.  Don’t be longer than that.  You remember where Metatron’s archive room is?”

“Right.  If nothing’s changed since I Fell, then yes.”

“I’ll distract Radueriel at the front desk -- don’t get caught.  There’s a window in Pravuil’s office that you can slip out of -- I’ll be waiting for you there.  Good luck, Luci.”  With that, Raphael entered the building, with his brother following a short way behind.

Hanging back, the fallen angel hugged the shadows as he watched his brother approach the the front desk of the record room.  Raphael started leaning on the counter, laughing and joking with the pretty female angel there, before he turned her attention to one side.  One of his hands surreptitiously waved Lucifer through; the Devil ducked low and sped by the desk.  He was moving so fast that he slipped on the marble floor and skidded around the corner.

Lucifer quickly found Metatron’s archive room and slipped inside.  The room was incredibly large, with rows and rows of record books that seemed to stretch on ad infinitum.  

“Right,” he said to himself grimly as he pulled back his hood, rolled up the sleeves of his robes and got to work.

  
  



	5. Nisia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A really big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! Your editing skills are awesome -- thank you!!!

 

 

Lucifer had to hand it to Metatron, the man was an excellent record keeper.

There was documentation from the beginning of time, all meticulously recorded in Metatron’s spidery handwriting.  Everything dear old Dad ever did, any activities the angels participated in, even happenings on Earth -- everything was written down.  It was quite overwhelming to the fallen angel.  Not even the record keepers in Hell kept books like these...!  No wonder Metatron hardly ever left his record room -- he’d never finish any of his work, if he did.

It took Lucifer a long time to find the books about banishing all of the Old Gods, which had frustrated him quite a bit.  Feeling like time that he couldn’t afford to lose was ticking away, he had hurried through the rows and rows of archives, hunting for the record of when he had Fallen, then moving forward from there.  He spent the better part of his time searching before he was able to find what he was looking for.

He was dismayed to see so many books on banishing Old Gods.  Cursing under his breath, he started quickly leafing through each one, searching for... what the hell was he searching for?  There were so many Old Gods -- hundreds of groups.  Chloe’s family could be any one of them.  And with less than two hours to find the right Old Gods?  The urge to tear out his hair was overwhelming.

Lucifer tried to think of everything he could about his last visit with Ray; the image of the photo that the old man had shown him came to mind.  A wide expanse of ocean, and a number of islands.  That’s what he needed to find -- a plane that fit such a description.  Rifling through the pages, he searched through the records for information on the different planes.

Metatron was a good record keeper, but unfortunately, the descriptions of the planes were scattered throughout the books.  Lucifer rubbed his head in frustration as time kept ticking away -- he was sure that two hours had already passed.  Metatron would be coming back soon.  He had to find what he needed and get out.

Just when he was about to give up hope, he finally found a description list of all of the planes in the last book he pulled.  There just wasn’t enough time to look through it all then, so he tore the pages out and tucked it in his trouser pocket.  Shoving the book back on the shelf, he scrambled back to the room’s entryway.  

Very cautiously he opened the door.  Although he didn’t see anyone, he heard footsteps approaching.  He quickly bolted out of the room, taking only enough time to shut the door quietly, before hiding around a corner.  Now he needed to get to Pravuil’s office, which was... where?  Lucifer thought a moment, before striding down a few more corridors.  Once he found the right door, he knocked, hoping that the scribe was not in.

A few minutes passed; the fallen angel heard no movement, so he carefully opened the door.  The office was empty.  Breathing a sigh of relief, he slipped in and shut the door behind him.  Glancing up, Lucifer saw the window he was to escape from.  It was up high, and closed.  Spreading his wings, he flew up toward it, scattering papers on the scribe’s desk as he did so.

He tried to open the window, but it was jammed.  Bloody hell -- did no one maintain their bloody windows anymore?  The quality of Heaven had certainly declined since he had Fallen!  The urge to break the offending aperture was very great, but he refrained.  With a grunt, he finally slid the glass open, and slipped through.  Closing the window behind him, he then landed in the shadows of another building, where Raphael was waiting.

“Cutting it kind of fine, weren’t you, Luci?” the healer asked, a relieved grin on his face.  

Lucifer laughed, releasing all of the tension he had felt inside the building.  “Not at all, Rafe.  Not at all.”

“Did you get the information you needed?”

“Yes,” the fallen angel said as he pulled the sheets of paper out of his pocket.  “These pages have the information I need.  I’ll have to study them a bit, but --”

“You ripped out pages from Metatron’s books?!”  Raphael looked horrified.  Lucifer wasn’t sure why.

“Well, yes....”  He thrust the pages back in his pocket.  “There wasn’t time to --”

“Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know,” Raphael said.  “Let’s get you out of here.  We’ll leave through the Southern Gate -- that way Geburatiel won’t get a second look at you.”

 

 

________________________________________________

  
  


 

After thanking Raphael for his help and leaving him behind in Heaven, Lucifer headed back to his flat.  Once there, he first took a hot shower and scrubbed his wings.  After he was fastidiously clean, he laid out on his desk the pages from the record books and looked them over carefully.  Most of the descriptions were of land -- deserts, mountains, places filled with ice and snow.  Some had oceans, but were dominated by land -- not what he wanted.  He only found two planes that seemed right -- the plane Nisia, and the plane Shotou.  

The fallen angel rubbed his forehead.  He didn’t know which one was the right one.  Well, there was a fifty-fifty chance he’d get the right one on the first try.  After filing the precious record pages in his desk, he flipped a coin and made his choice.  

Nisia it would be.

 

 

________________________________________________

  
  


 

Lucifer soared through the sky, flying over the wide blue ocean.

He certainly hoped this was the right plane.  Remembering the photo that Ray had showed him, he figured it had to be the right place.  Below him the sea was dotted with many islands -- some large, some small.  It looked like a heavily populated area, for he could see cities built from white marble.  

With surprise, he noticed other flying deities that dotted the sky.  There were so many of them, he could almost imagine he was back in Heaven.  Figuring no one would notice another flying being, he threw caution to the wind about hiding his identity.  

Deciding to land on the largest island, he headed for that.  Before he could blink, he found himself surrounded by other winged people -- boys, by the looks of it.  They were all naked, with their wings fluttering madly, like hummingbirds.  Lucifer had never seen the like.  All the angels in Heaven were adults -- even the cherubim, who had youthful faces but fully mature bodies.  

As he studied them, they looked him over, giggling and pointing.  A couple of the boys came up and tried to brush up against his large wings as he caught a strong breeze and rode it in.  It startled him; he didn’t like children, other than Chloe’s little one, and had no urge to get to know them.  He caught an updraft and pulled away from them, but they followed persistently.

Finally getting frustrated, Lucifer dove down and landed.  Most of the young winged boys landed as well, although one split off from the main group and left.  The others stayed a fair distance away, shadowing the fallen angel as he walked down the road toward the city.  Most of the gods he passed didn’t seem to give him a second glance.  They all wore robes, unlike the boys behind him.  A few gazed curiously at his trousers and his lack of robes, but no one seemed to notice his large, white wings.  It was very odd.

He made his way into the main square, where a number of gods passed to and fro.  There was a large building with stairs, which Lucifer decided would make a good place for an announcement.  Bounding up the stairs, he yelled, “Right!  I’m looking for the Goddess of Compassion’s brother!  Can anyone point me in the right direction?”

A number of people turned and looked at him curiously.  A ripple of exclamations started going through the crowd as they pointed at him and talked amongst themselves... but no one answered his question.

“Listen, you bloody pillocks, can anyone tell me where I can find Compassion’s brother?” he yelled.

“Which one?” One fellow responded.

“Which... one?”  Lucifer blinked.  He had gotten the impression from Ray that there was only one.  “Bloody hell, how many brothers does she have?” he yelled back.

A woman counted on her hand and yelled back, “Fourteen brothers.  Which one are you looking for?”

“I... I’m not sure.  Where are they?”

That prompted a burst of laughter from the crowd.  “This fellow doesn’t know who he’s looking for!” someone shouted with derision.

“Shut up, you bloody sod!” Lucifer yelled back.  “Look, I need to find someone to help Compassion --”

“Everyone needs to help poor Compassion,” someone else shouted, and the laughter continued.  

He couldn’t understand their reaction.  It was very strange.  He had gotten the impression from Ray and Hal GeWitter that Chloe had been well-loved when she was a goddess.  These people didn’t seem to hold her in the same regard.

A man came running up to him before he could say another word, and grabbed his arm.  “I can help you, my good man!” he said.  

Lucifer looked the fellow over.  He had curly blonde hair, a burly physique, sported an unkept beard, and was of average height.  His eyes seemed shifty, and the fallen angel instantly took a dislike to the man.  “Who are you?”

“My name is Dolos,” he said as he guided the Devil down the steps and back to the courtyard.  “I’m one of the brothers of Eleos -- Compassion.”

“Oh,” Lucifer said with surprise.  This was Chloe’s brother?  Why did that give him chills?  “Right.  I’m Lucifer Morningstar.  I need your help.  Compassion -- Eleos is in trouble.”

“Really?  Do tell,” Dolos said with an oily smile.  “Perhaps I or one of my brothers can be of assistance.”

“Well, she’s having a lot of pain.  I need your help to get that to stop.”

The god laughed scornfully.  “She’s having pain?  You mean she  _ is _ a pain.”  He snickered at his own joke.  “Now come this way,” the man said as he continued to guide the fallen angel through the streets.  

The fellow pulled him down different streets as they talked, until Lucifer was hopelessly lost.  He’d have to launch himself into the sky to figure out where exactly he was.  A glance over his shoulder revealed the young winged boys still tracing his footsteps.

Something about the man’s manner finally made Lucifer dig in his heels.  “No.  Bloody hell, something’s wrong.”

“How can it be wrong?” Dolos said.  “Look, you want to help Eleos, don’t you?”

“Yes, but --”

“Well, come this way then.”

Lucifer’s sense of self-preservation kicked in.  “No.  I think... I think there’s been some mistake.  I have to go.”  When he tried to open his wings to launch himself into the sky, the young winged boys suddenly pounced on him.  The fallen angel shoved them aside as he tried to get enough open air to fly.  For an instant he thought he was in the clear; then there was blinding pain at the back of his head and everything went black.


	6. Aphrodite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You make my work shine!

 

 

When Lucifer awoke, he found himself laying on the floor of a small stone house with his hands and feet tied tightly.  Swearing under his breath, he struggled against his bonds, but couldn’t break the ropes.  Dolos sat in a chair close by, his legs straddling the backrest, watching him.

“Lucifer!  Glad you see you’re awake,” the blonde god said with a grin, revealing crooked teeth.

“Bloody hell, what’s the meaning of this?” the fallen angel snarled.

Dolos stood and walked to the prone man.  Bending down, he stroked Lucifer’s cheek.  “You’re a worthy prize, my boy.  An angel -- here?”  He laughed.  “Pretty brazen, aren’t you?  Not even trying to hide what you are?  There are a lot of winged beings here on this plane, so many of us wouldn’t even give you a second glance -- but I recognized what you were right away.  You’re going to fetch me a nice price.”

“Fetch a --?!  Bloody hell, you’re planning on selling me?!”  That brought on another spate of useless struggling on Lucifer’s part.  After he had he spent his energy, he snapped, “What about your sister?  She needs your help!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.  I saw my sister yesterday, and other than her usual whining and complaining about how sad she is and blah blah blah, she’s fine.  No different than usual.”

The blood rushed out of Lucifer’s face.  Bloody hell... he was on the wrong plane.

“Look, can’t we discuss this?” the fallen angel asked and started exerting his charm.  “Surely there must be something you desire?”

Dolos blinked for a moment, then smiled.  “Well, yes.  There is.”

“Splendid!  What is it?” Lucifer asked with a cocked head and a wicked grin.

“A good price for you,” the god said, patting his captive’s cheek.  “Now you just rest up.  We’ll be taking you to your new owner soon.”  Dolos turned and called to someone in the other room.  “Bia!”

A brown-haired woman walked in in robes, looking... hungry.  The look she gave the prone man sent chills down Lucifer’s spine.  

“I promised you a feast, didn’t I?” Dolos asked the newcomer.  “Well, dine away, lovely.”

The goddess said nothing, merely grinned ferally.  Squatting down next to the fallen angel, she pulled him close to her and placed her lips on his collarbone.

Lucifer gasped as something grabbed the spark of lightbringer energy that burned within him and began... pulling.  Like water draining down a sink, he felt his energy get sucked away by her touch, weakening him to the point where he couldn’t even lift his head.  Bloody hell, if this is was how the Old Gods were, no wonder dear old Dad wanted them off Earth!  Panting hard, he could only stare at the goddess as she closed her eyes with a sated look on her face.

“Ooooh, Dolos, that tasted soooo gooood,” she hissed.  “Let me buy him -- please!”

“No, lovely.  Aphrodite has first dibs.”

She pouted.  “But Zeus and the others eat all my energy -- this is the first time in a long time that I’ve had a chance to be full.”

“Yes, well, Aphrodite will no longer be bothering you with Lucifer at her disposal, so you’ll have a lot more energy for our king.  Now come along.”

Bia looked at him with regret, and followed Dolos out of the room, leaving Lucifer alone.  

Shortly thereafter, rough-looking men came, picked up Lucifer, and put him into the back of a cart.  Wherever they were taking him didn’t take long.  The fallen angel lay on the rough wood and stared at the sky, wondering what was going to become of him.  He was as weak as a kitten -- could barely move.  That goddess had drained him, but good.  It would take him a long time to recharge, but when he did, he planned on escaping this plane as soon as possible.

When the cart finally stopped, the men carried their bound captive inside a villa, down a long flight of stairs, and finally into a dark dungeon.  While one man made swift work of cutting away the bonds from Lucifer, another placed on his ankle a manacle with a long chain attached to the floor.  

Lucifer lay where they left him, cursing his weakened state.  Bloody hell, if only he could gather up some energy and escape this place!  Gathering up every shred of strength he had, he managed to sit up and look around.  The cell was cramped and dusty, with a small barred window set high along one wall.  There was a cot, a chair, and a table in the room with him.  Using all of his willpower, he pulled himself into the chair.  The cost was dear -- he sat panting, completely exhausted.

He looked up when the door opened, and a beautiful woman walked inside, flanked by several men.  Some of her guards merely stood at attention, while others carried torches, lighting up the small prison.  With the added light, Lucifer was able to study the woman in front of him.  She was very fair of face -- there was no denying it -- with her blonde hair piled high on her head and dressed in a very sexy Grecian gown, but her beauty left him cold, somehow.  Her eyes glinted with hunger as they traveled over his features, taking in his handsome face, his physique, and his wings.  A long time ago he would have been flattered by her scrutiny, but now he felt repulsed.

“My boys didn’t lie about you,” she said with a smile as she reached out and ran her fingers along his shoulders.  Unable to pull away from her, Lucifer bore her touch with gritted teeth.  

“Your boys?” he asked.

Ignoring his words, she whispered, “Even your voice is beautiful.”  She turned to one of her men.  “Pay Dolos double what was promised.  Tell him I am pleased.”

After that man left, the woman began circling the fallen angel, stroking his wings and his chest with her fingertips.  “Beautiful.  Just beautiful.  What is his name?” she asked one of the guards.

“Lucifer Morningstar, my lady.”

“Lucifer?  What a fine name for such a fine specimen.”  She bent close to his face, gazing into his eyes.  Lifting a hand, she tried to stroke his stubble-lined cheek, but he turned away from her.  He tried to bat her hand away, but he was still too weak for the motion to be very effective.  His actions brought a smile to the goddess’s lips.  “So much fire!  I haven’t seen this much fire in years!”

“And who are you?” he asked.

“You don’t know who I am?”  She laughed.  “I am Aphrodite, my dear Lucifer.  And you are now mine.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, love, but I’m off the market,” Lucifer told her with a wry smile.

“Well you are now, now that I’ve bought you,” she countered.  The goddess leaned forward and tried to kiss the fallen angel.  When he resisted, she took his head in her hands and forced her lips on his.  

Lucifer gasped as he felt what little energy he had left get sucked out of him and into her.  “Bloody hell,” he managed to whisper in horror. 

Pulling away with a look like the cat that had just eaten the canary, Aphrodite licked her lips.  “Oh, you taste so good.  I can’t wait for you to recharge.  I heard that Bia had sampled the goods -- I’ll have to punish her for not leaving me more....”

“Get away from me, you monster,” he snarled at her.  

The goddess merely laughed at his words.  “Oh, I like you, Lucifer Morningstar.  Such lovely fire!  I can’t wait to taste it.”  Without warning, her hand shot out and gripped his chin tightly.  “But you must learn to respect me, my dear.”

She turned to the guards behind her.  “Beat him.  And break his wings -- I don’t want any chance of him escaping.  He’s far too valuable to lose.”

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Lucifer still lay on the floor, face down, where the guards had left him a couple of hours before.  The beating had been excruciating -- especially when they broke his wings -- but he had not uttered a sound the entire time.  Now he just tried to control the pain by breathing steadily and telling himself that nothing hurt.  Perhaps if he told himself that enough, he would begin to believe it.

He heard the cell door open, but didn’t look up.  There was a whisper of fabric by his ear, and then a woman’s hand was running through his hair before stroking his painful wings.

“Hello, my adult Eros.  Have I told you how beautiful you are?” Aphrodite asked him.  “You know, my boys, the Erotes, are just that -- boys -- with tiny, fluttering wings, but you....  You, with your big, white wings, like an eagle -- you are beautiful.  It’s too bad we had to break those beautiful wings of yours, but I can’t have you escaping.”

“Well, why the bloody hell didn’t you just cut my bloody flight feathers instead?” Lucifer managed to snap.  “It would have been a hell of a lot less painful.”

“But not as much fun to watch,” she replied with a smile.  The goddess nodded to her soldiers, who pulled Lucifer up and sat him in the chair.  As they held him down, Aphrodite approached and ran a cool hand down the fallen angel’s chest.  “Have you recharged a bit, my delicious angel?”  Leaning close to his face, she whispered, “I am so very hungry....”

_ Oh no -- bloody hell, no! _

Gripping the hair at the back of his head tightly, she forced her lips on his.  Lucifer tried to twist away, but too late -- what little energy he had started syphoning out of him and into her.  Weakness shot through his limbs as she drank most of his lightbringer energy, and he slumped when she pulled back.

Wiping smiling her mouth as if she had just eaten something juicy, she said, “You taste so delicious, my pet.  So good.  There’s so much power there -- more than I’ve had from others of your kind.  And you taste so much more delectable than the inhabitants here.  I can only imagine how much more you’ll have to give me when you give it willingly.”

A crazed laugh escaped the fallen angel.  “Bloody hell, you must be mad!  Why would I give it to you willingly?!”

“When we have sex, you will.  The energy you have to give, especially when given freely, always increases with sex -- which makes it so much more scrumptious.”

Lucifer’s eyes glowed red as he snarled, “I will never have sex with you, you monster.”

“That’s what they all say,” Aphrodite said in a sultry voice, “but I always win in the end.”  She caressed his jaw.  “Recharge quickly, my pet.  I’ll be back.”

They left him alone then, and Lucifer was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

 

 

________________________________________________

  
  


 

Lucifer was beginning to dread the sound of the door opening.  Some of his energy had returned, so he levered himself off the cot and sat up.  Pain shot through his wings at the action, but he ignored it.  He couldn’t afford to show weakness to the goddess.  He looked up at the woman walking through the door, and his mouth dropped.

“Chloe?” he breathed as he looked at her in the light cast from the open doorway.  The two guards who usually accompanied Aphrodite came in with torches.  The door to the cell slammed shut.

Pulling himself to his feet, Lucifer slowly approached.  “Is it really you?”

“Yes, my love.”

The voice was right, but the intonation wasn’t.  Lucifer stopped in midstep, caution screaming in every fiber of his being.  Something was wrong.  

“What’s wrong, Lucifer?  Here I am,” the woman said, approaching him.

Her eyes -- they didn’t look right.  They were too... hungry.

“No,” he said, backing away until the back of his knees hit the cot.  “No....”

“Why are you running from me, my love?” she asked, reaching out to him.  Lucifer batted her hand away angrily.

“Bloody hell, it’s you, isn’t it, Goddess?”

Aphrodite, wearing Chloe’s face, laughed.  “Yes, my smart angel.  Don’t you like my new look?  I thought you would prefer it.  My glamour allows people to see the one they love most, which makes giving in to sex so much easier for my pets.”

“Take it off,” Lucifer snapped.  “It’s too good for the likes of you.”

“Oh no, my adult Eros.  I’m going to wear my glamour from now on, until you finally give in and have sex with me.”  

With the strength of a goddess, she pushed him down onto the cot and suddenly jumped on him, her lips searching for his.  Desperate to keep her away, Lucifer grabbed her arms and held her off as he twisted his head to one side.

“Struggle all you want,” she panted.  “It makes it so much more exciting.”  A breathy laugh escaped her as she continued trying to kiss him.  “You’re mine, my adult Eros.  I wished all my Erotes looked like you....  I can’t tell you how pleased I am with you.” 

“Bloody hell!  Get off me, you trollop!” he cried as he fought her.  She was like an octopus -- all arms and legs, clinging to him.  It was horrifying.

“Ohhh the passion, the fire you exhibit!” she said.  “It will be mine!”

Her lips finally connected with his cheek, and like a leech she drained his energy until all the fight left him.  As he lay helpless on the cot, she licked along his jaw and kissed his collarbone.

“My lovely, lovely angel....  So tasty,” she breathed.  “I can’t wait for the day that you’ll be all mine, body and soul.  “I’ll be back, my sweet,” she said with a satisfied laugh, and left.  

Hopelessness and despair flooded the fallen angel, and he wished for the millionth time that he was back in Hell, rather than trapped where he was.  If Aphrodite kept draining him, there was no way he’d ever be able to escape.  He’d be trapped on this bloody plane forever....


	7. Hephaestus's Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A really big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You are awesome!!

 

 

Chloe didn’t see Lucifer the day after their big argument about marriage, but she didn’t let that bother her.  Figuring he was off sulking somewhere, she decided to let him cool off.  It would give her a chance to cool down, as well.  Suggesting marriage just to get Dan off her back?!  The nerve of him!

The day after that, when he didn’t make an appearance at her house, she called.  There was no answer -- the phone went straight to voice mail.  That started worrying her a little, but still she thought that perhaps it wasn’t too unusual.  Maybe it was like the time with the whole Malcolm incident when he had gotten completely freaked out and avoided her for three weeks...?  She knew Lucifer could get overwhelmed at times, especially when it came to human emotions, so the thought of the baby and marriage could have sent him off into hiding.  

By the third day, she went to his apartment.  When the elevator doors opened, she was struck by how silent it was, like a tomb.  As she moved from room to room, anxiety started to wind itself around her.  Where was he?  His bed didn’t look slept in, there were no empty glasses by the sink....  There was no sign of him.

Chloe took the elevator down to LUX and found Maze tending bar, with Amenadiel keeping her company.  The angel was the first to spot her, waving her over.  

“Hey, where’s that wayward brother of mine?” he asked as she leaned up on the counter next to him.  “He has a club to run, you know.  I can only cover for him for so long.”

Shooting Amenadiel a look full of worry, she asked, “He’s not with you?”

That caught Maze’s attention.  “We thought he was with you.”

Shaking her head, Chloe said, “I haven’t seen him in three days.  I thought you might know where he is.  I’m worried.”

The demon and angel exchanged concerned glances.  “Well, he came to me a few days ago, asking about the Old Gods.  He wanted to know who got sent where.” Amenadiel said.  

“Why would he want to know that?” she asked, although she had a bad feeling that it had something to do with her pain.

The angel shrugged.  “When I told him we had banished a number of Old Gods, he said he needed to talk to Raphael.”

The blonde woman nodded.  “Okay.  Can you please call Rafe for me?”

“Sure.  Go wait upstairs -- I’ll ask him to meet you there,” the angel said.

“Keep me posted, Decker,” Maze said.  “I want to know if Lucifer’s in trouble.”

With a nod, Chloe headed back to the elevator.  In a matter of seconds, she was back in that empty apartment.  Feeling out of place without knowing where Lucifer was, she took to pacing in front of the couch until she heard the flurry of wings.

“Hi, Chloe,” Raphael greeted as he walked in from the balcony.  “What can I do for you?”

The detective got to the point right away.  “Can you tell me where Lucifer is?”

“He’s not back yet?”  A concerned look crossed the angel’s face.  “He went to one of the Old Gods’ planes.  He asked me to help him find out which Old Gods got sent where.  He said he had to find someone.”

That caught Chloe by surprise.  “Who?”

The healer shook his head.  “He wouldn’t say.”

“Do you know where he went?” she asked, frowning.

“Unfortunately, no.”  A frustrated look crossed Raphael’s face.  “He had me help him get into Metatron’s archives.  When he came out, he had torn out some pages from the record books and said that it had the information he needed.  I have no idea where he went.”

The detective dropped her head into her hand.  It figured Lucifer would destroy the records they needed to know where he went!  Shaking her head, she said, “Okay, thanks Rafe.  I appreciate it.”

“Chloe....”  

She looked up at the angel.  “Yes?”

“How are you feeling?” he asked with concern.  

Giving him a small smile, she said, “I will be better once Lucifer comes home.  Thanks, Rafe.”

“Well, call me if you need me.  Amenadiel can get in touch with me, okay?” With that, the angel gave her a goodbye hug and left.

  
  


________________________________________________

  
  


That night, Chloe lay down in bed and tried to track down Lucifer.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t relax enough to sleep.  She wanted to scream.  Why couldn’t she sleep?!  This had happened before, and it drove her crazy -- especially now, when she had the horrible feeling that something bad had happened to Lucifer.  Taking deep breaths, she struggled to calm down her restless mind and focus on her love.  

By 4:00 am, she gave up.  It was just no good.  

Pulling herself out of bed, she went downstairs and lay on the couch.  It made her feel a little closer to Lucifer; he used to crash there when he stayed too late at her house.  Punching one of the pillows that rested on it, she tried to make herself comfortable as she bedded down.  Surprisingly, she slept.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Chloe found herself in a strange stone cell.  Dust kicked up at her feet as she slowly moved around.  It was dark, but bright moonlight was coming in through the small barred window in the wall high above her, dimly lighting up the room.  As her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, she was better able to make out her surroundings.

There wasn’t much -- a chair, a table, a cot -- and a figure lying face-down on the floor.  She approached slowly and gasped as she recognized her lover.  Lucifer’s five o’clock shadow had grown heavy, resembling a closely trimmed beard.  He was naked to the waist, with dark bruises marring his body, and his wings lay splayed on the ground.  A long chain connected to a heavy metal manacle around his ankle shackled him to the floor.

Rushing to his side, she kneeled beside him and touched his shoulder gently.  “Lucifer?” she whispered.  He didn’t stir, which scared her.  His wings, she could see now, were both broken and in bad condition.  Afraid that shaking him might cause him pain, she bent down and gently brushed the hair from his forehead.  “Lucifer!”

After a long moment, his eyes opened and he stared at her -- just stared.  Then a crooked grin lit his features and he said in a hoarse voice, “Nice try, Goddess, but you’re still not her.”  He tried to laugh but it just came out as a wracking cough.

“Lucifer, what are you talking about?” she asked as she struggled to get him into a sitting position.  “What have they done to you?”

“Bloody hell, if I didn’t know any better....”  He groaned and closed his eyes.  “I haven’t recharged yet, you bloody monster.”

“What?!”  Chloe sat back on her heels, shock on her face.  “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Going to beat me again for not being respectful enough?” he spat.  He glanced up at her, his eyes glowing red, and said derisively, “Oh come on, Goddess, you don’t fool me with all the supposed innocence.  Go away.”

Obviously, Lucifer had lost his mind -- Chloe was convinced of it.  “No.  I’m getting you out of here.”  Her hands went to the iron around his ankle.  Cursing the dim lighting, she tried to see how it was attached.  A lock in the manacle, it seemed.  If only she could see better!

The fallen angel watched with puzzled eyes.  “What are you doing?”

Chloe glanced up at him.  “What do you mean, what am I doing?  I have to get this thing off of you.”

He laughed harshly, again coughing at the end of it.  “Bloody hell, Goddess, your tricks never cease, do they?” he wheezed.  “If you’re so hot on removing it, why don’t you just get your guards to just take the bloody thing off?”

Her eyes narrowed at his tone, and before she could stop herself, she slapped him hard.  “Will you just shut up for a moment?!” she snapped.

Something in his face changed, for he looked sharply at her and said, “Kiss me.”

“What?!”

“Do it.”

Although it seemed crazy to Chloe, she brushed her lips against his.  For a moment he held himself stiffly, but then relaxed against her.  When she pulled back, he gazed at her in wonder.  “C...Chloe?”

“Who else would it be?” she asked, annoyed.

Before she could say anything more, he grabbed her tightly and kissed her with so much passion that she thought she’d faint.  Her heart gave its customary stab of pain but she refused to let it affect her, although she couldn’t altogether suppress a jerk against him.

Pulling back suddenly, he leaned his forehead against hers and said in a shaky voice, “I’m sorry, love.  I’m sorry -- I just... I can’t believe it’s you....”  With a gentle hand he caressed her cheek.  “Why are you here?”

“You went missing --  I was worried.  Why are you here?  Where are we?”

Fear suddenly filled his eyes at the sound of voices and approaching footsteps.  “You have to leave.  They can’t find you here -- she’ll kill you.  You have to go.  Hurry.”

“What?!  Lucifer --”

“Go now!  You have to go!” he hissed desperately.  “Please, Chloe -- go!”

“We’ll both go,” she said with determination.  “Hold onto me --”

The fallen angel shook his head.  “It won’t work -- I’m tethered here,” he said as he lifted the chain in his hand.  “Go now, Detective.  Please!”

She felt the familiar vertigo pulling her down, and the next thing she knew, she was back on her couch.  Fear filled her as she thought of Lucifer as a prisoner.... but she had no idea where she had been!  How in the world would she be able to get him help?  Thinking hard, she realized she could plan a jailbreak....

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Lucifer stared at the empty spot where Chloe had been as the cell door opened.  Aphrodite, wearing the detective’s face, walked in, along with two burly guards.  The men hauled the fallen angel to his feet, so that he could look at the goddess in the face.  

“You’re awake, my love,” she said in a sultry voice that was so completely at odds with who Chloe was that it made the fallen angel’s blood run cold.  “Have you recharged?  Have you decided to sleep with me yet?”

“I’ll never have anything to do with you, Goddess,” he snapped.

Her eyebrows rose.  “Well, so feisty today.”  She grinned, making her image of Chloe look positively feral.  “I like it.”  She reached out to touch his face, but he grabbed her hand and held it away.  He saw the surprise in her eyes before she wrenched out of his grip.  Aphrodite studied him closely.  “You’re different today.  Why?”

“Does it matter?” Lucifer replied.  “I’ll never have any bloody feelings for you, you conniving trollop.”

The goddess’s hand shot out, gripping one of his broken wings hard.  Yanking with super-human strength, she forced a cry from Lucifer’s lips.  He fell forward onto his hands and knees, shuddering as the pain racked his body.  The goddess gripped his hair and yanked his head up, then reached over and started licking and kissing his jaw like she was starving.  Lucifer could feel the energy getting pulled out of his body.

Disgust flowed through him; he shoved Aphrodite away with as much strength as he could manage.  Her glamour of Chloe shimmered slightly before regaining solidity as she hissed angrily.  “No one rejects me,” she screamed.  “No one!”

“Consider yourself rejected,” he panted with a grin and glowing red eyes as he tried to control the agony in his broken wings.  

She gripped his chin hard and turned him to face her.  “You will regret that, angel.”

He laughed.  “I very much doubt it.”

“Guards!” Aphrodite called.  “Bring me Hephaestus’s gift.”  She turned fierce eyes toward Lucifer, and smiled with malevolence.  “You  _ will _ be mine, my dear adult Eros, whether you like it or not.”

Another man entered the room, carrying a wooden box which Aphrodite opened.  Without taking her eyes off of the fallen angel, she reached in and pulled out a large iron ring.  The black metal was polished until it shone, with an intricate pattern engraved around the entire circumference.  The decorative carvings glowed with a pale, sickly green light.

“Hold him still,” she ordered as she approached him with the ring.  Lucifer struggled against the guards, but to no avail.  With one easy movement, she slipped the ring over his head.  As she held it, it shrunk in diameter until it was almost snug against his neck.  With a laugh, she stroked his jaw, her hand following when he turned his face away.

“My husband made these collars just for me,” she whispered, leaning so close that her breath fanned his cheek.  “He’s a wonderful blacksmith.  He lets me have as many lovers as I want and gives me whatever I desire, as long as I stay with him.  He designed something special for incredibly stubborn people like you.

“I would have preferred that you give your love freely, but... sometimes it cannot be helped.  This collar won’t let you love anyone else but me.”  The goddess laughed; it was a harsh, wild sound.  “You’re mine now, Lucifer.  You’ll always be mine and no one else’s, my pet.  This collar tethers you to me until I decide to take it off -- and I’m never taking it off.”


	8. Jailbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very big thank you to my awesome beta, ScooterThyme! You make my work shine! Thank you!

 

 

After dropping Trixie off at school, Chloe went to LUX.  She hoped she wouldn’t be interrupting Mazikeen and Amenadiel in any... compromising situations, but saving Lucifer took precedence over everything else.  Taking the elevator to the level just below Lucifer’s, she went and pounded on their door.

For a moment it seemed no one would answer, but at last a mussed Amenadiel opened up.  “Chloe!” he said with surprise.

“Hi, Amenadiel.  Can I come in?”

“Uhhhh....  Now is not a good time,” the angel said with a glance over his shoulder.

“It’s about Lucifer, and it’s urgent,” Chloe insisted.

Amenadiel looked at her sharply.  “Okay.  Let me... uh....  Why don’t you go upstairs?  We’ll be up shortly.”

With that she had to be satisfied.  Nodding, she said, “I’ll wait for you there.”

Chloe went to Lucifer’s flat and sat down at the piano, hoping to feel closer to him somehow.  The wait for the angel and demon seemed to take forever, even though she knew it wasn’t that long before they came.  

“Well, Decker?” Maze snapped as she stepped out of the elevator, with Amenadiel close behind.  “What’s this about Lucifer?”

“I saw him early this morning,” the blonde woman as she stood up and met them at the bar.  “He’s in trouble.”

“Where is he?” Amenadiel asked.

“In a cell somewhere on another plane -- I don’t know which one,” Chloe said.  “All I saw was him in a cell.  One of his legs was shackled to the floor, so I couldn’t bring him back home.  He looked bad -- both his wings were broken.”  She paused when she heard the angel hiss through his teeth.  “I want to break him out of there, and I need your help.  I don’t think I’d be able to handle three people coming back, so I can only take one of you.”

“I’ll go,” Maze said.  

“No, I’ll go,” Amenadiel said.  Turning to his lover, he said, “He’s my brother.”

“And he’s my master,” the demon spat back.  Giving Chloe a hard look, she said, “I’ll go.”

“But Maze --”

“Look, I don’t care which one of you goes,” Chloe interrupted, ”but he has a shackle on.  We need to get that off.”

“Then I’ll go,” Maze said as she glared at her boyfriend, before saying proudly, “There isn’t a lock I can’t pick.”

“Okay.  Amenadiel, can I ask you to look after Trixie if anything goes wrong and we’re not back right away?”

The angel looked unhappy, but finally nodded.  “I’ll take care of Trixie, but you both have to take care of yourselves.  Bring weapons.”

The detective nodded.  “I will, although I’m hoping we can be in and out of there before they even realize he’s gone.”

As Chloe went to get the duffel bag of Hell-forged weapons out of the coat closet, Maze poured herself a large glass of Scotch and saluted Amenadiel with it.  “For luck,” she said, and downed it in one swig.

“You will be careful?” the angel asked.  The demon glared back at him.

“I’m always careful,” she snarled.  “We’ll be back before you know it.”  Then she pulled his head down in a feral kiss that would have resulted in them having sex on the floor, had Chloe not cleared her throat.  The two broke apart, with Amenadiel panting hard and Maze looking extremely bad-tempered.

“Okay, Decker.  Show me your stupid goddess stuff,” she snapped.

“Heavenly Father, Maze, show some respect -- she did drive Father insane!” Amenadiel admonished.  

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever,” Maze replied with a wave of her hand.  “Compassion is still a wimpy, stupid, weakling god power to have.  Give me lightning bolts or nuclear explosions or something  _ real, _ for Hell’s sake.”

Overhearing the conversation as she tucked a knife into her boot, Chloe had to just shake her head.  She had a feeling that Mazikeen wouldn’t be that impressed by their mode of travel, either.  Straightening, she motioned the demon over to Lucifer’s bed.  “Over here, Mazikeen,” she said.  “Lie down next to me.”

The demon’s eyes lit up.  “Oooh, Decker, are we going to have sex before we go?”

Chloe rolled her eyes at how similar to Lucifer the demon was.  “No, I’m going to sleep, and I need to feel close to Lucifer at the same time.  Thus, his bed.”

“Sleep?!”  Maze bared her teeth and yelled over her shoulder to the angel, “See?  Stupid, wimpy weakling powers.  Ugh.  Disgusting!”  She did, however, lay down.

The blonde detective took a place beside her and clasped the demon’s hand in hers.  For a moment there was resistance, but Chloe held firm.  “Sorry.  Just bear with me until I fall asleep.”   _ Please let this work, _ she told herself over and over.  Now was not the time to be unable to travel the planes.  She heard the hiss of the demon’s disgust right before she fell asleep.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Lucifer sat on the floor of his cell, with his arms wrapped around his bent knees and his head resting on them.  His broken wings lay useless behind him.  How was he ever to escape this place?  After Aphrodite had put the collar on him, she had tried for hours to entice him to have sex with her.  The onslaught had been endless as she drained his energy with every brush of her lips; he had never had experienced anything so horrifying in his life.  On top of that, the wretched collar exerted pressure on him to bend to her will.  Defying them by yelling his love for Chloe had only resulted in severe beatings, and then it would start all over again.  He didn’t break at the torture, but he could feel the collar chipping away at his will, making him a little weaker each time she assaulted him.  The fact that it was stripping him of his free will was horrifying.

It was funny -- had he met Aphrodite a few years ago, he would have jumped at the chance to bed a goddess.  Well, perhaps not one quite so vampiric, but still....  And now?  Now he couldn’t even entertain the very thought of it -- he just wanted Chloe.  The irony wasn’t lost on him; a harsh, discordant laugh escaped his lips before he rubbed his forehead in aggravation.  Lifting his head, he looked out the window of the cell.  Would his love come when darkness fell?

A part of him longed to see her again; another part wanted to beg her to stay away.  Aphrodite would kill Chloe in a heartbeat, and he couldn’t have that.  How the bloody hell had he ended up in this mess?  

His hand reached up and tugged at the uncomfortable weight around his neck.  Bloody hell, he felt like a lapdog with a fancy collar.   _ I’m not Aphrodite’s,  _ he told himself.   _ I’m Lucifer Morningstar.  I have free will and can love whomever I want.  I love Chloe Decker.  I belong to Chloe. _

_ Do you really? _ He heard a small voice in the back of his mind say.   _ Or are you just in denial?  Because you belong to Aphrodite.  You will always belong to her.  Forever. _

“Shut up,” he snarled to the collar.  Taking the metal in both hands, he tried to break it, but the ring didn’t even deform from the pressure he exerted on it.  Maybe when he got home, he could try and cut the bloody thing off with a Hell-forged blade, if he didn’t end up cutting his head off by mistake.  Or maybe cutting his bloody head off would be preferable...?  With a despondent sigh, he rested his head back onto his forearms.  

“Lucifer!”

He looked up sharply at the voice.  Chloe was kneeling next to him, with Maze.  Blinking with disbelief, he whispered, “Chloe?  Maze?”

Before either of them could even respond, he threw himself into Chloe’s arms and held on fast.  “Bloody hell, you can’t be here,” he whispered to them both as Maze started picking the lock on his ankle shackle with one of her demon blades.  “That bitch will kill you both.  You have to leave.”

“Shut up.  We’re not leaving you,” the demon snarled.  

“We’re going to get you out of here,” Chloe said.  

With a furious shake of his head, he said, “No.  You have to go.”

“Not without you.”  The blonde woman glanced at the demon.  “How is it?”

“Ugh, damn Old God locks!  I’ll get it -- just give me a minute.”

Lucifer caught the sound of approaching footsteps.  “Right.  They’re coming -- you have to go,” he whispered fiercely.  “Please -- she can’t find you here!”

“Mazikeen?”

“Almost there....”

The footsteps were even closer.  Not sparing a glance at the approaching sounds, Maze kept working with her knife.

The fallen angel was at his wit’s end.  “Bloody hell, listen to me!  You both have to leave!” he hissed.  “Please!”

“Just a little more --”

The sound of a key in the lock of the cell door had Lucifer’s eyes going wide with fear.  The pins in the tumblers fell in place and the door unlocked.  The handle started to turn --

“Got it!” Maze cried triumphantly and ripped off the manacle.

As the door opened, Chloe quickly grabbed a hold of Maze and Lucifer, praying that she could get them home safe and sound.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

The found themselves in a tangle on Lucifer’s bed.  Amenadiel, who had been waiting in a chair nearby, stood up at their entrance.  Maze and Lucifer struggled to extricate themselves while Chloe slowly woke up.  The fallen angel scrambled over to the blonde woman’s side and hugged her tightly.  

“Thank you,” he whispered, and kissed her.  It felt... strange, though.  Puzzled, he pulled back.  Perhaps it was from the torture he had endured for the last few days...?  

_ Perhaps it’s because you don’t really love her, _ the collar whispered insidiously.  Lucifer responded by holding the woman in his arms even closer.

Chloe, meanwhile, caressed his bearded cheek and smiled.  “Are you okay?”

“Better than I have been, love,” he whispered.

“Lucifer, you look awful,” Amenadiel said.  “Let me call Raphael --”

“No,” his brother said.  “All I need is Chloe.”

“But --” the angel protested, but Lucifer shook his head firmly.

“I’ll be fine.”

With a considering glance at Chloe, Maze said, “I might have to rethink my opinion of you, Decker, although crossing planes is still a stupid power.”  The demon clasped her boss on his shoulder.  “Glad to have you back, Lucifer.”  Her eyes roved to her boyfriend.  “And you... I think we have some unfinished business from this morning,” she growled in a sexy voice as she rose from the bed.

“I have to go.  Luci, Chloe --” Amenadiel said as the demon grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him to the elevator.

When they had gone, all the adrenaline left Lucifer and all of his aches and pains returned tenfold.  A sigh escaped him as he fell back down on the bed.  With gentle fingers, Chloe carefully raked his hair from his forehead; her sharp detective eyes noticed that he flinched at her touch.  She caught sight of the black iron collar and touched it tentatively.

“What’s this?”

With a sudden movement that surprised her, he grabbed her hand in his, pulling it swiftly away from the offending iron, and kissed it.  “It’s nothing you need to be concerned with, my dear.”

Worry shot through her at his odd behavior.  “Are you all right, Lucifer?”

“I will be,” he whispered as he shifted her around.  His broken wings lay spread out on the bed beside him as he wrapped his arms around her and snuggled against Chloe’s back.

_ Do you really think this is love? _ the collar sneered.

_ Shut up!  _ His mind responded.   _ You don’t even know what love is, you bloody sod. _

“Can you heal me, love?” he whispered.

Chloe smiled at the sound of his low, sultry voice in her ear.  “I can try.”  Stroking his arms around her, she closed her eyes.  In less than a minute, she was asleep.

  
  



	9. Attempt at Freedom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to ScooterThyme, my excellent beta! You and your editing skills are awesome!

 

 

When Lucifer awoke, he was pleased to find himself whole again.  All of his bruises were gone, and his wings were no longer broken.  In fact, one of his wings was carefully covering Chloe and him, like a blanket.  

He and Chloe were still spooning, so he snuggled up closer to her, his wing drawing her to him.  It made him feel... strange.  It was puzzling, but he decided not to ponder on it for too long.  After all, embracing her was probably not the wisest thing to do -- it could make her pain much worse.

Reluctantly, he pulled back his wing and eased away from her.  As he sat up, he flipped his wings to a folded position and glanced at his lover.  She was beautiful, with her hair in disarray all over the pillow.  It should have filled him with unbridled passion, and yet... it didn’t.  The fallen angel scratched his head at the odd feelings, but chalked it up to the results of being held prisoner for a few days.  Surely it was from that...?  He would go back to normal soon.  Yes, he was sure of it.

Looking over himself, Lucifer was dismayed to see how filthy he had become from his stint in captivity.  A shower was what he needed -- a hot shower to wash away the feel of Aphrodite’s touch on him.  A shudder went through him at the thought of the vampiric goddess.  Rising to his feet, he padded over to the bathroom and shucked off his clothes.  After cranking the water on as hot as possible, he stepped inside the shower.  Steam flowed everywhere as he scrubbed himself clean, but the feel of Aphrodite’s lips sucking away his energy would not recede.  

_Did you really think it would?  She owns you.  You’re hers._

Lucifer shook his head violently, trying to free himself of the collar’s insidious voice.  Leaning hard against the shower wall, he let the water flow over and around him for what felt for a long time.  Finally, with a deep breath, he turned the faucet off and stepped out of the enclosure.  After wrapping a big towel around his waist, he approached a nearby mirror.  He ran a hand over the glass, wiping the condensation away, and quickly gave himself a shave.  After he finished, he took a closer look at the collar.  It no longer glowed a sickly pale green -- it looked like polished black iron.  The intricate carvings were barely noticeable in the metal.

_She’ll come for you, you know._

“Shut up,” he whispered furiously.  “You know nothing.”

_You’re hers forever.  You’ll never be free of her.  Never._

Lucifer squeezed his eyes shut.  The stupid collar was wrong.  It had to be wrong.  “I’m Chloe’s,” he said firmly.  “I have bloody free will -- you can’t tell me who to love or to whom I belong.  I love Chloe Decker, and I’ll be hers forever.”

The bloody collar laughed.

Cursing, Lucifer tried to rip the ring in half; the metal remained perfectly in shape.  With a frustrated cry, he started yanking the ring upwards, trying to get it over his head, but the diameter was too small.  The underside of his jaw started to bruise, then bleed with his efforts.  

“Lucifer?” he heard Chloe call from the other room.  With a quick glance at the mirror, he grabbed a towel to wipe the blood away from his neck and chin.  Making swift work of drying himself off, he quickly dressed in a fresh set of clothes.  He was unable to cover the collar -- there was no way to hide it under his shirt.  Bloody hell!  He wanted to hit the wall in his fury, but instead he took another deep breath and made his voice as normal as possible.

“Coming, love!” With a final, angry look at his reflection, he went back into the bedroom.  His lover was sitting up, wiping the sleep from her eyes.  Taking a seat next to her, he wrapped his arms around her.  “Hello, my dear.”

Chloe pulled back slightly, her sharp eyes roaming over his face.  “You look better,” she said finally.

“I feel better.”  He gave her peck on the cheek, which surprised even himself.  Shouldn’t he be kissing her with ardor?  “Thank you for healing me.”

Her gaze caught sight of the new injuries under his jaw, still oozing fresh blood.  As she reached out with gentle fingers, he pulled back, avoiding her touch.  “Lucifer, what --”

Giving a self-conscious laugh, the fallen angel ran a hand under his jaw and wiped the red liquid away, leaving a red smear on his skin.  “It’s nothing, love.”

“That’s new.”

“It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

Worry ate at Chloe as she studied her lover.  Taking his hand in hers, she clasped it tightly.  “Lucifer, talk to me.  What happened to you?  Why were you on that other plane?”

Shaking his head, the fallen angel only said, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Damn it, don’t give me that!” she snapped.  “You run off half-cocked, you don’t tell anyone where you’re going, you come back with that -- thing around your neck, and now you won’t talk to me!  Goddamn it, Lucifer!  Let me help --”

“No.”  Lucifer’s eyes were pleading as he caught her gaze.  “I just want to forget.  Please.”

Chloe’s anger dissipated at his expression.  Knowing that he had suffered terribly, she bit back the scolding she wanted to give him.  His words worried her -- just burying what had happened was not the way to heal.  Taking a deep, calming breath, she said, “Look, you need to talk to someone about what happened to you.  It doesn’t have to be me.  Maybe Doctor Martin...?  Because you need to talk to somebody --”

“No.”  He suddenly stood up, pulling away from her grasp.  For a moment he just stood there next to her, then he strode purposefully to the bar.  Pouring himself a very large glass of Scotch, he downed it in one pull, then poured himself another.  “Bloody hell, I wish I could get drunk like a human,” he muttered.

“Lucifer,” Chloe said as she walked next to him and removed the glass from his hand.  “This is not the way to deal with this.”  Placing it on the bar, she then turned him toward her and took him into her arms.  He stood stiffly for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly.

“I love you, Lucifer,” she whispered softly to him, ignoring the stab of pain the embrace caused.  “No matter what has happened to you, I will always love you.  Remember that.”

The fallen angel nodded against her hair.  A part of him felt warm all over at her love, but another part stood by, as if watching from a distance.  It was odd -- that had never happened before.  Shrugging it off, he tried to enjoy his time with Chloe.  “Thank you, love.  I know that.  It’s just....”

She looked up at him at that.  “Yes?”

Lucifer yanked at the offending collar.  “Right.  I need to remove this bloody thing.  I know I’ll be better once I get it off.”

“Then let’s get it off,” Chloe said with determination.  “Let me see if there’s a break in the metal....”

Why he sidled away from her when she touched the metal, he didn’t know -- but he did, and it disturbed him.  Forcing himself to stand still, he let her inspect the wretched collar.

Chloe’s brow furrowed as she ran a hand over the metal.  There wasn’t a break anywhere.  “How did you get this thing on?” she asked, puzzled.

“It’s not important, love,” was all he said.

“Well, there’s no way to remove it unless we cut it off,” she finally decided.  “And that’s not an option, with it being so close to your neck --”

“Surely we can try?” Lucifer asked, desperation tinging his voice.

The blonde woman frowned as she looked the fallen angel in the eye.  “I am not going to take a blade to your neck, Lucifer,” she snapped.

“I have to get it off, love.  If that means decapitating me, then by all means --”

Chloe’s hand shot out, slapping Lucifer hard.  His head snapped back from the blow, and he brought his hand up to his stinging cheek.  

“Bloody hell, Detective --”

“I am _not_ decapitating you!  Don’t talk like that, Lucifer!” she yelled at him.  And then she was hugging him hard around the chest.  “Don’t ever talk like that!”

The fallen angel brought his hands up and embraced her.  “Sorry, love,” he whispered.  “But surely we can try something?”

“I can run out and buy some bolt cutters, or maybe we can try sawing it with a serrated Hell-forged blade,” she suggested.

“I doubt bolt cutters made by humans will work,” Lucifer said.  Tugging at the ring, he added unhappily, “This was forged by a god.”

“Well, let’s see what we have in the magic bag of tricks,” Chloe said as she went to the coat closet and pulled out the duffel bag full of Hell-forged weapons.  Together they went through it, pulling out weapon after weapon, searching for the right implement to use.  They finally settled on a big hunting knife with a deeply serrated edge.

“This will have to do,” she said with a shake of her head.  

“Are you sure we shouldn’t try the axe?” Lucifer asked, and received a killing glance in return.

“I am _not_ hacking at your neck with an axe,” Chloe snapped.  “Don’t ask again.  Now lie down on the floor.  I want to make sure I don’t accidentally hurt you.”

The fallen angel readily complied, lying down right there by the bar.  The detective kneeled beside him, holding the big blade with uneasiness.  With a deep breath, she leaned over, gripped the collar in one hand and began to saw steadily with the knife.

It was like she was trying to cut a frozen steak with a plastic spoon.  Leaning in with her body, she pushed harder and harder, trying to make progress.  The grating sound was horrific, but she kept on.  When she finally pulled back, the serrated edge of the knife had been completely dulled away, while the collar didn’t even show a scratch.  

“My god,” she whispered.

“Please keep Dad out of this,” Lucifer said automatically before turning his head to look up at her.  “Well?”

Despair shone in her eyes as she said, “Not even a scratch.”

“Right.  I’m getting Maze,” the fallen angel said as he bounded to his feet and headed toward the elevator.  “Get the axe out, my dear.”

“Wait!  Lucifer, no --”

But he had already left.

When he returned with his demon, Chloe had pulled the battle axe out of the duffle bag.  With a snarl, Maze snatched it out of her hand.  “You should have called me first, Decker.”

The detective said nothing, merely watched with trepidation as Lucifer resumed his place on the floor.  

“Hold the collar steady, will you, Lucifer?” the demon said, before turning to the blonde woman and saying, “You.  Go to LUX for five minutes.”

Chloe blinked, caught off-guard.  “What?”

Maze heaved a sigh.  “Seriously, Decker?  The mortality thing, remember?  It’s a Hell-forged blade so if it’s going to kill him, it’s going to kill him, but I’m not taking any extra chances with you around.  Get out of here -- give us five minutes.  Better yet, we’ll fetch you.”

Nodding, the blonde woman bent down and squeezed Lucifer’s arm reassuringly, before heading to the elevator.  

The ride down had never seemed so long.  Chloe fretted as she waited by the bar, hoping for the best outcome.  Mazikeen was the ninja bartender, so hacking at her boss’s neck with a big axe should be okay, right?  Just saying that in her head made Chloe’s anxiety ramp up even further.

After what felt like an eternity but was only fifteen minutes, the elevator doors opened and both Lucifer and Maze walked out.  The demon looked furious, and the fallen angel....  Well, he still had the collar on.

Spotting Chloe right away, Lucifer made a beeline toward her, shaking his head as he approached.

“No good, love,” he said as he reached her.  “Not even a scratch.”

Chloe went right into his arms and said softly, “I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” Lucifer asked, pulling back to look at her face.  “You had nothing to do with this.”

“Are you sure?  Because you went to another plane to find an Old God, and the only thing I can think is that it’s because of me.”

“This is the result of me being bloody stupid,” the fallen angel said as he tugged on the collar.

“But --”

“But nothing love.”

For a long moment, Chloe was silent.  Finally, she said, “I want to help you.”

“You are helping,” he replied in a warm voice as he tucked her head under his chin and rocked her gently.  “You are, love.”  He felt her jerk against him, and instantly released her.  “I’m sorry -- did I hurt you?” he asked worriedly.

“No,” Chloe lied, smiling as she rubbed a spot above her heart.  “No, my love.  It was nothing.”  With that, she pulled him back into her arms.

“Ugh.  Disgusting,” Maze spat as she took her customary place behind the bar.  “If you’re going to display all that sappy... emotional garbage, take it outside.”

Both Chloe and Lucifer chuckled at that.  With a smile, the fallen angel looked down at Chloe and said, “Shall we take it outside, my dear?”

“Yes, why don’t we?”  Arm in arm they started walking toward the elevator, before Chloe paused and said, “Actually, it’s almost time to pick Trixie up from school.  Come with me?”

That stopped Lucifer dead in his tracks.  He wanted so desperately to be with Chloe and her child, and yet something inside of him stopped him.  Bloody hell, why?  Why couldn’t he bring himself to be with them?

 _Because you don’t love them,_ the collar sneered.   _Stupid angel, Aphrodite is the only one for you._

The fallen angel squeezed his eyes tightly at the sound of the voice in his head.   _Shut up!_ he told it, before he turned his attention back to his lover.  “Ah.  Right.  My dear Detective, would you mind very much if I took a rain check?”

Chloe glanced searchingly at him, then frowned.  “Why?”

“I... I....”  He shook his head.  “I can’t explain.  I don’t know.  I just need... I need some time alone.”

“You shouldn’t be alone right now.  You just went through a horrible experience --”

“Right.  But I can’t... I can’t....”  When Lucifer looked at her, his eyes were troubled.  “Give me some time alone... please, Chloe.”

At his plea, Chloe knew she couldn’t deny him, no matter how much she wanted to.  “Very well, Lucifer -- but just for today.  Tomorrow we are going to work through this, okay?”  He nodded.  “And will you promise me you’ll at least talk to Doctor Martin?”

For a long time he merely looked at her, his jaw working furiously before he said, “I can’t, love.  I just can’t.”

“Lucifer --”

“Give me a day, love.  Please.”

Knowing there was nothing she could do, she finally nodded.  “Very well, Lucifer.  But please remember that Trixie and I love you, okay?”  She leaned forward to kiss him on the lips, but he turned so that it landed on his cheek.  That bothered Chloe -- and Lucifer, who didn’t understand why he did that -- but she let it go.  “See you tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.”

And with that, she had to be satisfied.  With worry in every fiber of her being, she left LUX.

 

 

________________________________________________

  


 

For the rest of the day, Lucifer stayed on the balcony of his flat, filled with guilt and anger and confusion.   He stared up at the sky until the stars came out, wishing he was with Chloe and her child, wishing things were different, just... wishing.


	10. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You are awesome!!

 

 

_“You’re mine, my adult Eros.  I wished all my Erotes looked like you....  I can’t tell you how pleased I am with you.”_

_Aphrodite, wearing Chloe’s face, bent close, grinning so maniacally that it made Lucifer try to pull back, but he couldn’t move.  She caressed his cheek before letting her hand gently touch the iron collar around his neck.  Her fingernails scraped his throat as she slipped her fingers between him and the metal.  Gripping the collar, she yanked him close and kissed him with such voracious hunger that he felt like he was suffocating.  He could feel all of his energy getting syphoned away...._

With a violent jerk, Lucifer awoke from the nightmare.  For a moment he couldn’t remember where he was.  Blinking in the darkness, he looked around and slowly recognized his bedroom.  He took a deep breath as he desperately tried to calm his pounding insides.  His heart was beating a mile a minute, and he felt lightheaded, like he was going to pass out.  

 _Just a dream,_ he told himself.   _Just a bloody dream...._

He reached for the nearest light and turned it on.  A quick glance at his hands showed that they still trembled.  Lucifer grabbed the heavy collar around his neck and struggled to get it off, jerking it hard upwards.  Blood started to run on the underside of his jaw from his repeated attempts to force it over his head, but the collar was just too small.  The red liquid coated the band, making the smell of iron overwhelmingly strong.  He let out frustrated grunts as he banged it upwards, over and over.  After exhausting himself, he finally gave up.  

Lucifer ran a bloody hand down his face, leaving red streaks down one cheek.  Despair ran through him.  He would never be free.  He would be tied to that bloody goddess for all of eternity.

 _“You’re mine now, Lucifer.  You’ll always be mine and no one else’s, my pet.  This collar tethers you to me until I decide to take it off -- and I’m never taking it off.”_ Aphrodite’s words rang in his head, over and over.  

 _No,_ he thought to himself. _I’m not hers.  I’m Chloe’s.  I have free will -- free will!  I can choose who holds my heart.  I will be Chloe’s, and only Chloe’s...._

 _Sure,_ the collar laughed. _Keep telling yourself that._

A quick glance at the clock told him it was still only 3:00 am.  He desperately wanted Chloe.  Bloody hell, what he really wanted was to make love to her, to prove that he was hers alone, but he knew it would only cause her terrible pain.  But he could hold her hand, couldn’t he?  Anything was better than lying alone in bed with memories of Aphrodite haunting him.

With no hope of going back to sleep, he pulled himself out of bed and went into the bathroom.  A flip of the light switch ended up blinding him momentarily; he squinted as he looked at himself in the mirror.  All he could see was the bloody collar.  With an angry yell, he slammed his fist against the mirror.  The glass spiderwebbed, splintering his reflection into a million pieces, and multiplying the image of the collar until Lucifer felt like he couldn’t see anything else.  

With a snarl, he grabbed hold of the ring around his neck in a grip that would have crushed any other metal with ease.  He yanked at it angrily and whispered in a furious voice, “I’m Lucifer Morningstar.  I’m my own man.  Bloody hell, I have free will, and I choose Chloe Decker.”

 _Come now, you’re not really your own man...._  The collar said snidely.   _You’re Aphrodite’s.  You’ll always be hers._  

Lucifer let out a hiss of anger as he yanked once again on the metal.  Stepping into the hot shower, he washed off the blood from his face and neck.  The iron collar lay heavy around his neck, like a stone pulling him down into Hell.  With furious movements, he scrubbed his hair and body, as if to wash out the memories of his captivity, as well.  After rinsing off, he sunk to the bottom of the shower and sat on the tile under the spray.  For a long time he let the water rivulets run down his face and body as he tried to recall every moment he had spent with Chloe.  He held onto the thought of her like a protective charm, hoping that she could ward off the memories of the love goddess.

At last he pulled himself to his feet, turned off the shower and toweled off.  Determination marked his every step as he quickly dressed and headed downstairs to the parking garage.

  


 

________________________________________________

  


 

Chloe slowly woke up that morning, feeling strangely at peace.  When she realized that strong arms were wrapped around her, she sat up with a gasp.  It took her sleepy brain a second to recognize the gentleman in bed with her.

“Lucifer!” she exclaimed as he looked at her with heavy eyelids.  “I thought you wanted time alone...?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he mumbled before pulling her back down and snuggling next to her.  The stubble on his cheek felt rough against her skin as he shifted for a better position against her.  Before she could say anything, he had fallen back asleep.

Very carefully, she pulled away from him so that she could see him better.  He looked so innocent and... young when he slept.  Chloe’s brow furrowed as she noticed the new raw cuts and bruises under his jaw.  She reached out and touched them very gently with her fingers, tracing the injury.  

Her touch woke him.  Without opening his eyes, Lucifer reached up, took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.  “Don’t worry, love,” he whispered.  “It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“Lucifer,” she began, worry evident in her voice.

“When I’m with you, I don’t dream,” he said before dropping off again.

What did that mean?  Chloe stared at him with puzzlement.  She knew he was suffering from the trauma of his captivity, and his behavior had her worried.  And the iron collar....  It was obvious he had tried to force it off again.  If only there was some way of removing it!  But there was no indication that there was even a break in the metal.  She didn’t know how it had gotten on him in the first place.

For a long time she lay there, unwilling to wake him by moving.  Eventually she would have to get up, but he looked so tired....  She eventually dozed off.

When she woke once again, he was gone.  It jolted her instantly awake, and she ran her hand on the sheets where he had lain.  They were warm, and still had the imprint of his body.  It hadn’t been a dream.  Pulling herself up, she slung on her robe and wandered downstairs.  Sure enough, he was just starting breakfast for her and Trixie.

“Hey,” she said softly.

It surprised her when he jumped; usually he knew whenever she was near, like he had radar.  When he turned, she saw something she couldn’t identify in his expression, before he covered it up with his usual easy grin.  

“Oh hello, my dear!  You’re up early,” he said as he busied himself with cracking eggs into a bowl.

Chloe approached him and touched his shoulder.  For a moment it seemed like he shied away, before he stepped closer to her and kissed her forehead.  He seemed a little distracted as he looked down at her.  “Good morning, love,” he whispered.  

Something was definitely off.  Chloe’s police instincts were screaming to high heaven.  

“Lucifer, what’s going on?” she asked.

“What?  Oh, nothing you need to concern yourself with,” he said as he went back to cooking.  

Chloe gripped his arm and turned him toward her.  “I _am_ concerned.  You need to talk to someone.  Tell me what’s going on.”

He didn’t want to -- he just couldn’t.  Bloody hell, he never again wanted to think of what had happened.  But he _could_ tell her --

Lucifer put all of the cooking utensils down and took Chloe’s hands in his.  “Right.  You do know, don’t you, love?”

“What’s wrong?  No.  Tell me, Lucifer.”

He shook his head.  “Not that.  You know.... You know that I am yours, do you not?”

“What?”  Chloe stared at him with confusion.  “What are you talking about?”

“Me.  You.”  He sighed.  “Bloody hell, I’m making a mess of this.  You know I’m yours, don’t you?  I have free will, and I choose you.  You do know that, correct?”

There was something strange in his intonation that caught the detective’s attention.  It sounded an awful lot like... desperation.  Fear shot through her.

“I know you love me, as I love you,” she said in a calm voice as she tried to decipher what he was trying to say.

He looked relieved.  “Yes, I’m yours.  I choose to be yours.  Only yours.  I will only ever be yours.”

The wording was strange.  Chloe’s eyes narrowed as she studied him carefully.  “Okay....”

Lucifer shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly looking anxious.  “Right.  I know I haven’t said it -- well, except when we’re having sex,” he said with a ghost of his boyish smile, “but, I do.... Well....  That is --”  He took a deep breath.  “Marry me.”

_“What?!”_

“Marry me,” he repeated.  

She was dumbfounded.  Her mouth dropped open, and she just gaped at him.

“I know you think this is about the bloody douche, but it’s not.  It’s not even about the... the impending little one.  I just...  I just want to be yours.”  He shook his head.  “No, I _have_ to be yours.”  

“Lucifer....”  Taking his hand in hers, she led him to the living room couch and sat him down next to her.  She laced her fingers in his reassuringly.  “You have to tell me what’s going on.”

Shaking his head, he tightened his grip on her hand.  “No.”

“I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“No.”  He took a shuddering breath.  “Do you trust me?”

That caught her off-guard.  “With my life.”

“Then marry me.  It’s my choice, and I choose to spend all of eternity with you.  Make me yours.”

Chloe felt like she had fallen down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.  It was not a good feeling.  “Damn it, Lucifer, you’re not making any sense!”

“You... you don’t want to marry me?”  There was a wealth of hurt in his voice... and in his eyes, as he stared down at her.  Before she could say anything, he suddenly stood up.  “Right.  Bloody stupid question.  I’m a fool.”

“No, wait -- Lucifer!” She sprung to her feet as he started to walk away, catching him from behind and wrapping her arms around his chest.  Frozen, he stood there stiffly in her embrace.  “I love you,” she said fiercely.  “I do.  But I won’t answer that question until I know what it is you aren’t telling me.”  

Her hands turned him around so that he was facing her; she was dismayed to see his face closed off and distant.  A tic in his tightly clenched jaw was the only thing that revealed that he had even heard her.  Wrapping her arms around him, she pressed her cheek against his chest.  

“I want to help,” she whispered.  “Please let me help you.”

Gradually, the ice started to melt and his body relaxed.  His arms came around her and he rested his cheek on her hair.  “You can help by marrying me, love,” he said softly.

With a sigh, Chloe led him back to the couch and sat down next to him.  Once again she laced her fingers in his, this time with both hands, so that he had no chance for escape.  Leaning close, she kissed him gently on the lips.  Leaning in, he started to deepen the kiss before his eyes flew open, a puzzled, almost panicked look on his face.  

“No.  No, no, no,” he whispered as he tried to disengage his hands from hers.  “No!”

Chloe held on tight, not releasing him.  “What is it?” she asked.  She hadn’t felt any pain at the kiss, so it wasn’t that.  So what was it?  “Tell me, Lucifer!  What is going on with you?”  She stared at deep into his eyes and saw the naked fear there.  “Tell me!”

He suddenly went limp, his forehead falling to the top of her shoulder, his face anguished.  “My feelings... I can’t feel....  I can’t feel anything!”

 


	11. An Explanation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! Thank you for all your hard work!

 

 

“What?!”

Chloe stared at him, uncomprehending, as Lucifer squeezed his eyes shut.  “I can’t...  I know what I’m supposed to feel, but... bloody hell, I can’t feel!”

He started moving his hands restlessly again, and she reluctantly released him.  With horror, she saw him grip the collar around his neck and start madly jerking it up against the underside of his jaw, as if to force it off.  There was real desperation there, she could see it.  She tried to stop his hands, but he was too strong for her.  Blood started running from his wounds as he kept trying to rip off the collar.

“Lucifer!  Stop it!” she cried, afraid he was going to end up decapitating himself.  Her hands gripped his tightly as she struggled against him.  “Please!”

Pausing, he looked at her with a face filled with panic and despair.  “Help me, Chloe,” he whispered.  “Help... me....”

Then she was suddenly in his embrace, his arms tight around her, his face buried in her neck.  His whole body shook as if he was going to fly into a million pieces.  Wrapping her arms around him tightly, she rocked him as if he was Trixie.  Her heart complained with a sharp pain, but she ignored it.  Her Lucifer needed her, and that was all that mattered.

After several minutes, he slowly disengaged himself, keeping his eyes to the floor.  Chloe tried to catch his eye, but he kept avoiding her gaze.  Finally, she reached over and tilted his bloody chin toward her.  When he finally made eye contact with her, she smiled reassuringly at him and caressed his stubble-lined cheek.  

“Chloe....” he whispered and caught her hand.  First planting a kiss on it, he then pressed it harder into his cheek.  “Help me.”

Very calmly, very gently, she said, “I will, my love.  I will.  But first you have to tell me what is going on.  I can’t help you if I don’t know.”

His eyes squeezed shut.  When they opened again, they were tortured.  “I... I can’t.”

“You can, my love.  Just start at the beginning.”

“Right.  I....  I went looking for someone,” he began.  His eyes were far away as he remembered.  “I thought I was on the right plane, but... I wasn’t.  There was a goddess who... fancied me.  She... she wanted me -- me! -- as a bloody pet, and put this collar on me.”  His hand yanked at the metal ring.  “She said... I’d never feel anything for anyone except her, as long as I had it on....”  Lucifer looked at Chloe then, looking tormented.  “She said she’d never take it off.”

“Oh Lucifer,” she breathed as she pulled him back into her embrace.  “It’s okay.  It’s going to be okay.  We’ll find a way to get it off, my love.”

She rocked him in her arms, trying her best to impart comfort in him.  He buried his face in her neck.  “I can’t feel,” he whispered.  “I know what I’m supposed to feel, but... it’s like I’m outside of myself.  There’s nothing there.”

“Shhhh,” she soothed.  “We’ll find a way.”

“I can’t be hers,” he whispered.  “I’m yours.  I’m Lucifer Morningstar.  I have bloody free will and I choose you.”  He said it over and over like a mantra before turning his head, his lips searching and finding hers.  Chloe returned the kiss, feeling passion twine around her painful heart.  Lucifer nudged closer, deepening the kiss.  When they broke apart, he said softly.  “I can almost -- I can almost feel....”

Chloe stopped his words with a finger on his lips.  “Don’t worry, Lucifer.  We’ll get this solved.”

With a sigh, Lucifer pulled himself away and sat up.  Shaking his head, he said, “I can’t be hers, love.  I just can’t be.”  His eyes burned with intensity as he looked at her; Chloe was glad to see some of his fire returning to him.  “Bloody hell, I have free will, and choose to be yours.  I’ll always be yours.  Please make me yours, love.  Marry me.”

“I’m not sure marriage will solve this,” she said uncertainly.  “I love you, but --”

The fallen angel shook his head.  “She can’t have me if I’m tied to you, and I’m sure when we’re married, I’ll start to feel.  I know marriage will fix everything.  I... I....”  For a moment he looked uncertain, then resolve filled his face.  “I love you,” he blurted out fiercely.  “With everything I am.  I know that, even if I can’t -- I can’t....”

Just then, Trixie’s door opened and the sleepy girl walked out in her pajamas.  Wiping the back of her hand over her eyes, she mumbled, “What’s going on?”  When she looked up and saw Lucifer, she became fully awake and ran at him.

“Lucifer!” she cried as she jumped on him.  Her shoulder hit the collar; she pulled back with a yelp as he flinched from the impact of the metal on his neck.  

“Are you all right, child?” Lucifer managed to ask as he held Trixie and rubbed her injured shoulder.

“What happened to you?” she cried in distress as she looked at the blood on the underside of his jaw.  She squinted at the collar and then back at him.  “And what’s that thing around your neck?”

A sigh escaped him.  “It’s nothing you need to be concerned with, child.”

“But --”

“What woke you up?” the fallen angel asked, diverting her attention.

“I heard voices.  What are you and Mommy talking about?” she asked.

“Trixie, why don’t you get changed?” Chloe said, but Lucifer interrupted.

“I’m trying to convince your mother to marry me.”

The little girl’s face lit up like it was Christmas.  “Really?  Really, really, really?”  Turning excitedly to her mother, she asked, “Really?”

“Trixie --”

“Would you like that, child?”

Trixie nodded vigorously.  “Yeah, it would be so cool!  I’ll have an angel for a dad and you can take me flying everywhere and I can have chocolate cake for breakfast -- and cash!  You can give me cash because you’re loaded!”

Chloe sunk her head into her hands and groaned, while Lucifer laughed -- his first real laugh since returning from that other plane.  “That’s right, child.  But we have to convince your mother that it’s the right thing to do.”

With imploring eyes, the little girl turned to her mother.  “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, please?  Please, please, please?  With a cherry on top?”

“But Trixie, baby, are you sure?  What about your dad?  How do you feel about that?”  Chloe asked.

Trixie’s face fell.  “Well...  I love Daddy, but all you do is argue these days, and when I’m with him it seems like he’s never that happy.  I would still like to see him, but I would love living with you and Lucifer.”  She looked up at her mother.  “Please tell Lucifer yes, Mommy!  I want to live near Maze and Amenadiel, too -- I miss them!”

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Chloe laughed.  “Very well.  Yes, Lucifer, I’ll marry you.”

Relief flooded Lucifer’s face while Trixie started cheering like mad.

“Shame on you, using a child to make me agree,” she scolded him under her breath as they watched the little girl hop off the couch and dance around the house.

A chuckle escaped Lucifer as he watched Trixie finally run into her room.  “I’ll do whatever it takes, my dear.”

Turning to her lover, Chloe’s face grew serious as she looked at him with concern.  “I don’t want you to feel like you have to marry me,” she stressed.  “You don’t have to, you know.  I’m sure we can find a way to fix --”

“But I  _ do _ want to,” Lucifer interrupted.  “I’m all about free will, love, you know that.  Why would I ask if I didn’t?”

“Well...” she said hesitantly, “before you only wanted to marry me because Dan goaded you into it....”

Shaking his head, the fallen angel looked deep into Chloe’s eyes.  “That bloody sod didn’t goad me into it.  I know it sounded bad at the time, but....  Believe me, my dear Detective, I do want to marry you.”  Then his voice dropped to a sultry rumble.  “It  _ is _ what I want -- and I always get what I want, my dear.”

For a moment it appeared like he was going to kiss her.  He leaned enticingly close, their lips almost touching, their breaths mingling, and Chloe’s heart thumped maddeningly in anticipation... but at the last moment, he pulled back, regret in his eyes.  

“Right.  Bloody hell, you’re still not well, love, and I have to get cleaned up,” he said as he wiped the underside of his jaw with his hand.  “I shouldn’t even be here.”  Suddenly leaping to his feet, he quickly moved away.   Taken off-guard, Chloe could only watch as he paused at the kitchen and said, “I won’t be able to finish making breakfast.  I have to go.”

“What?!”  She rushed to him then, stopping the tall man with a hand on his arm.  “Go where?”

“I have to find your brother.”

“My brother?  Lucifer, I don’t have a --”

“Yes, you do.”  He looked at her meaningfully, and realization dawned on her.

“That’s who you were looking for, when you went to that other plane.  You went to help me....  Then it  _ was _ my fault that you ended up with --”  She broke off with horror.  

“No, you’re wrong.”  He rubbed her upper arms.  “It’s not your fault at all.  It was my own bloody stupidity, my dear.  Not yours.”

“Lucifer, it wasn’t your fault -- nothing that happened was your fault!  You need to talk to Doctor Martin --”

“No.  I only need you.”  He took a deep breath and said, “And for that, I have to get you well.”

Chloe shook her head violently.  “No.  Lucifer, you can’t go.  Please.  It’s not worth it.  I’m fine the way we are.”

The fallen angel looked at her as if she was mad.  “Your bloody life is at stake!  I’m not about to sit back and do nothing when there’s a chance that you might be well again!”  Hugging her hard, he whispered, “I have to do this, my dear.  For you... and for me.  Let me.”

Chloe shook her head, then glared at him.  “Lucifer, no.  You are not going searching for someone who may or may not exist.  I’m not having you put yourself in danger again.  Please, just see Doctor Martin --”

“I’m going.”  Lucifer looked down at her, determination blazing in his eyes.  “You can’t stop me, my dear.  I’ll do whatever it takes to get you well again.”

“No, Lucifer --”

“I have to find your brother, and I’m going.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” she said fiercely.

“After what happened to me?  Absolutely not,” her lover replied.  “I don’t want you in any danger, love.  I’ll go on ahead and find your brother.  Once I’m sure of where he is, I’ll come back and you can follow me there.”

“No.  I won’t let you.  Lucifer, you can’t --”

He spoke right over her objections.  “I’m going, my dear.  Wish me luck.”  Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead before striding to the front door with those long legs of his.  When he walked like that, he was near impossible to catch up to.

Chasing after him, she yelled, “Lucifer!  Goddamn it!” as he took off in his Corvette.


	12. Shotou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You are awesome!

 

 

Once he got back to the flat, Lucifer pulled out the duffel bag of Hell-forged weapons and started going through them.  He’d be damned if he got caught with his bloody trousers down again.  Unsure if the plane to which he was going had vampiric gods, he decided to bring a weapon -- he’d kill any god who tried to suck him dry.  A weapon that was easy to hide would be best, as well as some sort of robe or jacket to hide his wings.  He had been bloody stupid the last time, and look where it had gotten him.

The collar felt like it was constricting around his neck, like a noose; he tugged at it angrily.   _I am not a dog -- I have free will,_ he told himself.   _Chloe’s going to marry me.  Even if I have to wear this bloody collar for all of eternity, I’ll be hers forever._

He heard the collar laugh mockingly.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered as he took a deep breath.  It was going to be all right -- he would make it so, collar be damned.  He’d go to this next plane -- which he hoped was the right one -- get Chloe’s brother to cure her, and they’d live out the rest of their lives together.  He would get his feelings back, and everything would be all right.  

Rummaging through the bag, he looked closer at the knife selections.  A dirk strapped to his leg would be good.  After outfitting himself, he went to his closet and looked at his clothes.  All suits.  They would stick out like a sore thumb.  Damn.  He’d have to borrow something from Amenadiel.  The thought of wearing one of his brother’s unfashionable dresses made him cringe, but it couldn’t be helped.  It would be better than a suit.

Riding the elevator down a floor, he strode down the hall and banged on the door of Amenadiel’s flat.  Getting no answer and hearing only silence on the other side of the entryway, Lucifer turned the handle and stepped over the threshold.  

The smaller flat looked very similar to his, but had Amenadiel’s touches here and there.  The furniture selection was not quite as dark as Lucifer’s, and had more white and pastel accents.  A corner of the fallen angel’s mouth lifted as he wondered what his demon thought of all of this... color.

Striding over to the master bedroom, he opened up the closet and looked at his brother’s selection of clothes.  He rifled through the suits -- _Really, Amenadiel?  Surely you could get a better tailor...?_ he thought to himself -- before he found a few robes at the very back.  Just what he needed.  They would let him fly, yet hide his wings once on the ground.  Grabbing a robe, he draped it over his arm and left the flat.

He was ready.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

The plane he went to was filled with water -- nothing but water.

A huge expanse of blue stretched out before him, far more intense than any ocean he’d ever seen on earth.  The sky was clear, without any clouds around, and the sun on his wings was warm.  There was no land, as far as he could see, which worried him.  It looked very different from the Greek plane -- but surely that was a good sign?

Soaring like an eagle, he caught the tradewinds and let them push him along, resting his wings when he could.  The sea below him was amazingly clear, and sometimes he caught sight of massive beasts under the water -- nothing that resembled anything back on Earth.  Lucifer stayed up high, in case those creatures were hungry.  The last thing he needed was to get attacked by some sea monster.

After flying for hours and thinking that he had definitely come to the wrong place, he finally spotted an archipelago in the distance.  It suddenly occurred to him that the group of islands looked just like the photo that Ray had showed him, when he first started on this quest.  The fallen angel didn’t see any guards or sentries in the air, but just to be safe, he dropped close to the surface of the sea and came in low.  Once he landed on the beach of the closest island, he furled his wings and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible.  At least he wasn’t wearing a suit....  Unfortunately, the robes didn’t cover the iron collar.  With a tug on the material to try to cover the offending item, Lucifer started to walk.

It wasn’t long before he came to a quiet village.  Slowing his pace, he studied the modest wooden structures along each side of the road, with their sliding doors and windows.  The sound of wood striking wood in a regular fashion caught his attention, and he went to investigate.  Peeking into one of the houses, he saw a woman at a huge loom, busy working the machine as she wove a beautiful brocade.  

The middle-aged woman at the loom caught sight of him at the window, and froze.  Stark terror lit her face and she scrambled to her feet.  Lucifer blinked at her odd reaction as she ran further into the house.  It was almost as if she had seen something horrific.  Taking a look over his shoulder, he checked to make sure his wings were well hidden -- they were.  So then why...?

Continuing his walk, he came upon another house with an older man who was sharpening a sword on the veranda.  Lucifer watched him a moment, fascinated by the care the fellow took with the blade, before approaching.

When he was about five feet away, the man sensed his presence and looked up.  Fear filled his face, and he shifted his grip on the blade, as if ready for an attack.

“Why are you here?” he barked at the fallen angel.

“Right.  I just want to ask you a few questions,” Lucifer said, raising his hands.  “I mean you no harm.”

“I don’t talk to your kind,” the older man said.  He stood up, sword still in hand, and started backing away.

“Hold on!  Bloody hell, I just want to ask you --”

The man turned and ran into his house, slamming the sliding door shut behind him.

Well, this was a quandary.  Lucifer’s brow furrowed at the strange reception he was getting.  They seemed to know what he was, without him even saying anything.  True, his brothers and sisters had kicked the Old Gods off of Earth, so these people had nothing but bad feelings toward angels, but he didn’t have anything to do with that....  Bloody hell, all he wanted was to find Chloe’s brother and get her well!  Everyone running away from him in terror was a complication he couldn’t afford.  

Turning away from the house, he started to walk down the path he had come down, only to find his way blocked by a veritable giant.  The warrior in front of him was easily ten feet tall, in lacquered armor interwoven with colorful cords, and holding a mighty sword to boot.  The woman who had been at the loom earlier stood behind the giant, talking quietly and pointing at Lucifer.

“You have some gall, showing up here,” the warrior snarled to the fallen angel as he warned the woman to stay back.  

“Look, I’m just here to find someone.”

“Listen, little winged man,” the warrior said, “we don’t want any of your kind here.  You sent us here, and we’ve stayed away.  Now keep your side of the bargain and leave.”

 _Little winged man...._  Lucifer had heard that phrase before, from Hal GeWitter.  Relief flowed through him as he realized this was this was, indeed, the right plane.

“Right, about that,” he began when the warrior pointed his sword at him and roared, “Leave!”

“Look, I can’t -- will you listen?!”  The fallen angel leaped out of the way when the warrior took a swipe at him with that massive sword of his.  “Bloody hell, just listen!”

The warrior attacked with gusto, and it took all of Lucifer’s concentration to stay out of the path of that giant sword.  If he flew, he could easily outmaneuver the giant, but he really didn’t want to do that.  Then again, they already knew what he was, so....

Unfurling his wings in a flash, he leaped up into the air with the intent of escape, but a giant gust of wind threw him to the ground.  Turning, he saw a huge, red beast man with horns and massive fangs standing behind him, with a bag slung over his shoulder.  When the monster opened the bag, wind blew out of it so hard that it swept Lucifer into a tree trunk, which shattered on impact.

Coughing, the fallen angel pulled himself out of the rubble.  Bloody hell, it felt like he had cracked a rib or two.  Before he could get to his feet, the warrior rushed up to him.  Grabbing his throat in one massive fist, the giant lifted him off the ground; luckily the fallen angel’s collar prevented his windpipe from being crushed.  The warrior shook him like a rag doll before tossing him into another tree trunk.

As Lucifer struggled to his feet, he pulled the dirk from the sheath strapped to his leg and held it in front of him, although it looked completely ineffective against that monster sword the giant was wielding.  He took to flight again, intent on striking the warrior, when another massive wave of wind knocked him down yet again.

Bloody hell, he couldn’t even manage to get anywhere near his opponents!  

Looking to one side, he saw another fighter enter the fray -- a blue beast man this time, beating a drum.  Without warning thunder rumbled across the sky as, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning flashed down, striking Lucifer.  Pain lanced through him, almost as great as the pain he felt when he Fell.  He screamed in agony, then collapsed to the ground, unconscious.  Little wisps of smoke rose from his prone body and splayed wings.  

Reaching down, the warrior easily picked up the fallen angel and threw him over his shoulder.  Telling everyone to remain calm, he carried his prisoner through the village, with the beast men following behind.  They walked a long distance away from any signs of civilization, before coming to a deep, narrow pit covered with a heavy metal grate.  One of the beast men opened the pit, and the warrior threw the angel in.  With a slam they locked him in, and left him there.

  
  



	13. Compassion's Brother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge thank you to Usagi1988 for providing the background relationship between Yahweh and the other Old Gods. You totally rock!
> 
> And a big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme, for your wonderful editing skills. You are awesome!

 

 

“Here, sit up, if you can,” a voice said.

Groaning, Lucifer tried to move, but couldn’t seem to get his limbs to work right.  Everything hurt.  He opened his eyes, but couldn’t see anything -- the world was pitch black.  Maybe it was night?  The smell of earth surrounded him -- he suspected he was in a pit.  Or maybe a cave?  A hand at his back and another at his shoulder helped prop him into a sitting position.  He felt a cup thrust into his hands.

“Drink this,” his unknown benefactor said.

“Right.  Are you poisoning me?  Or are you possibly a vampiric god?” Lucifer asked cautiously.

“Excuse me?!” the fellow exclaimed, shock in his voice.  “I’m here to help!  Just drink up.  You’ll feel better.”

Lucifer sniffed the cup suspiciously.  He had no reason not to believe these gods wouldn’t poison him.  Still, the man beside him seemed to be helping, so he took a small sip.  The drink had a sweet, fruity flavor, and surprisingly, some of his aches seemed to ease.  Throwing caution to the wind, he downed the entire contents in one gulp.  

Energy flooded him, and as it did, the pain receded until there was nothing left.  He was amazed at how quickly he felt the effects of the drink.  Rafe needed to talk to this fellow, for sure -- his brother certainly could use some of this tonic for his work!

“Thank you,” the fallen angel said, as he tried to return the cup to the man -- although he couldn’t see where he was.  He felt it taken from him.  

“I’m sorry about the poor reception you had in the village.  War, Wind and Lightning can get a little overexcited.  You’ll have to excuse them -- everyone is afraid of you,” the man said.

Lucifer blinked.  “Bloody hell, what is there to be afraid of?  I just wanted to ask a few questions!”  

“When people are afraid, they can’t think clearly,” the fellow said.  

“Well, why are they so bloody afraid?” the fallen angel growled.  “I’ve done nothing to them!”

He could feel his benefactor’s disbelief.  “Oh really?  Killing us and driving us from our home is nothing?”

“Right.  That was not me,” Lucifer said indignantly.  “I got kicked out of Heaven by dear old Dad before that all happened.”

“Well, how are we supposed to know that?”

The man had a point.  The fallen angel sighed, and silence reigned for a few minutes.

“You must be hungry,” the man finally said.  “Here, eat this.”

Feeling something placed in his hands, Lucifer cautiously took a bite.  Energy filled him again as he ate, flooding him with a wonderful sense of well-being.  It tasted so delicious that he ended up stuffing the entire thing into his mouth.  “This is bloody good,” he said as he chewed, although it sounded more like, “Mmph mm mrupmm mphmm.”  After swallowing, he managed to say more clearly, “Bloody hell, man, you need to open a restaurant!”

Lucifer heard laughter as another cup was passed to him, this time water.  He drank it all up before asking, “So how did you get banished from Earth?  From what I see, you’re all bloody strong.”

“We’re strong, but few in number,” the man said sadly.  “Your kind filled the skies, like a swarm -- millions of you.  We were only twelve hundred in number -- eight hundred, now, scattered among these islands.  After losing so many of us, our leader, Sun, decided to sue for peace with Yahweh, the Usurper.”

The fallen angel’s eyebrows went up.  “The Usurper?”  

“Oh, of course you wouldn’t know.  Yahweh is an Old God, just like us.  We all co-inhabited the Earthly Plane, but he couldn’t stand to share.  He made millions of you, bided his time until conditions were ripe, then waged war on us.  There was so much destruction as he went from Family to Family, killing or banishing everyone so that he could rule everything....  We were lucky Sun was so wise.  Many Families were not so lucky -- they were completely eradicated... so you can understand why we are afraid of you.”

Lucifer went pale as he heard of his father’s actions.  He knew dear old Dad had been a manipulative bastard, but he had no idea of the extent of his power-hungry ways.  An unknown emotion filled him, making him feel sick, and he belatedly realized it was shame.  And yet, after all that his dad had done, Chloe still had the heart to fall in love with him -- her family’s bitter enemy?  It boggled his mind.  He had not realized the extent of her compassion and goodness.

“When everyone saw you, we thought Yahweh had broken the negotiation pact -- that you are the first of many to finish killing us all.  They were afraid.  You aren’t supposed to be here,” the god finished.  After a long pause, he asked, “Why _are_ you here?”

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Ah.”

Lucifer heard the clink of dishes being put away, and the sound of a lid being shut.  “Why can’t I see anything?” he asked.

“It’s night, and Moon wanted some time off,” the man said, “so it’s as black as pitch out there.  And you, my friend, are in a very, very deep hole, as well.”  

“Why are you helping me?”

The fallen angel heard the smile in the man’s voice.  “It’s what I do.  You were suffering, so I came to help.  My sister was always better at this, but --”

Everything clicked into place in Lucifer’s brain.  “You’re Compassion’s brother!”

There was a long pause before the man said, surprised, “Why yes --”

“Splendid!”  Elation flowed through the fallen angel.  At last!  The god who could help Chloe -- what a stroke of luck!  “Right.  Your sister -- she’s in a lot of pain and may die.  She needs your help as soon as possible.  Can you help her?”

“My sister is on Earth.  I haven’t seen her for many millennia.”  The god sounded cautious.

“Yes, yes, I know.”  Excitement laced Lucifer’s words.  “I’ve heard you’re the only one who could help her -- help us.”

“But... you can’t be the angel she fell in love with...?”

“That I am.  Lucifer Morningstar.”  Puzzled, he asked, “Why can’t I be?”

“Because of this,” the man said, and the fallen angel felt a tap on his collar.  “I’ve seen one of these before.”

Lucifer felt the blood drain from his face.  “Bloody hell, I can explain about this --”

“Can you?”  There was skepticism in his voice.  “The last time I saw one of these, the wearer was a goddess’s... pet.  He belonged to her -- mind, body and soul.  I sure hope you aren’t playing with my sister’s feelings, because there are plenty of us here who would gladly chop you into little pieces if you are.”

Anger coursed through Lucifer, making his eyes glow red.  For a moment, the light from them very dimly lit up his prison and the man in front of him.  “I’d never play with your sister’s feelings.  Bloody hell, she’s everything to me!”

The collar snickered.   _Everything.  Right.  How about nothing?  Because Aphrodite is the one who is everything to you._

 _Quiet, you bloody sod,_ the fallen angel thought angrily.

“Really?  So then why do you have that wretched thing on?”

“I....  It’s a long story,” he said.  “But believe me, I have no intention of belonging to anyone except your sister.”  He gripped the iron ring angrily.  “This ultimately happened because I was bloody stupid.  And if I did belong to that sodding goddess, do you really think I’d be here, talking to you about getting your sister well?”

There was a long pause before the other man said, “That is true.”  Lucifer could hear him packing up his gear.  There was resignation in the god’s voice when he spoke again.  “Well, I would truly like to help her, but I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t leave this plane -- not without being reborn as a human.  Your kind made sure of that.”  There was no condemnation in his tone, only sadness.  “What good would I be to Compassion if it takes me twenty years to get to her?  Would she still need me by then?”

“I... I don’t know.”  After a few moments of silence, Lucifer said confidently, “But Chloe -- your sister -- can cross planes.  If you let me out, I can tell her I’ve found you.  She can follow me back here and you can help her.”

“She can cross planes?  Well, that’s good news.  It’s been a long time -- and I had always hoped that I’d see her again someday.”  There was the rustle of material as the man stood up.  “I’ll see what I can do about getting you out of this hole.”

“Wait -- “

But suddenly Lucifer sensed that he was alone.  Sighing, he rose to his feet and started feeling around his little prison.  It was fairly tight, without enough room to spread his wings for a decent take-off.  The walls felt like... dirt, not rock.  There wasn’t going to be any easy way to climb out, unless he wanted the hole to collapse in around him.  A part of him wondered why it hadn’t collapsed already, but no matter.  Hopefully Chloe’s brother would be able to get him out.  He folded his wings, then sat down and waited.

  


________________________________________________

  


The hole was still abominably dark in the morning, but at least he could see.  Chloe’s brother had not been kidding when he said that Lucifer was in a very deep hole.  Craning his neck up, the fallen angel tried to see anything other than a very tiny blue piece of sky.  

After what felt like hours, he heard the grate at the top of his prison open.  Glancing up, he saw a rope being lowered to him.  Bloody hell, it was about time!  With quick movements he tied it around his waist.  The people on the other end swiftly hoisted him out; the ride was a little nauseating, but Lucifer swallowed hard and didn’t complain.  The bright glare of sunlight blinded him momentarily.  Blinking fiercely, his eyes slowly adjusted as people helped him get his feet back on the ground.  When he looked at the faces around him, he was disheartened to see all of them looking at him with misgiving.

The small group of gods around him were of all different shapes and sizes.  Lucifer was surprised; he was used to seeing only beautiful people as angels and gods.  Not... old people, young people, some stocky, some very tall with gangly limbs, some with no limbs at all.  Oddly enough, it felt very much like he was facing a panel of humans -- except for some of those nasty looking beast men watching close by, and strange animals as well, like the white fox with many tails eyeing him warily.

Some soldiers held spears to his neck, to make sure he wasn’t going to resist.  Holding up his hands, Lucifer merely cocked his head and waited for someone to say something.  

At last an old man spoke.  “Healing said we should let you go.”

Healing?  That must have been Chloe’s brother.  “Right.  Yes.  I’m trying to help Chloe -- ah, Compassion.  She needs help,” Lucifer said.  “I mean you no harm.  I’m just here to get... ah... Healing’s help.”

“Hmph,” the warrior from the day before said.  “I don’t trust him.  These little winged men are completely without honor.  We all know that.”

“Bloody hell, I have honor!” snapped Lucifer, which had everyone turning back toward him.  Rubbing his forehead in frustration, he said, “Look, are you bloody pillocks going to let me go or not?  Chl--Compassion’s life is in danger and I really want to get her some bloody help!”

A woman spoke up.  “Arrogant, isn’t he?”

“You’re in no position to demand anything, little winged man,” another one said.

“Calm down, everyone,” an average man who appeared in his thirties said.  The fallen angel recognized the voice -- it was Healing.  “I’ve spoken with this angel.  He says he had nothing to do with our banishment, and I believe him.  We should let him go.  He says he can bring Compassion back to us.”

A ripple of excited exclamations worked its way through the crowd.  Lucifer could see that Chloe was well-loved by these people.  Jumping on Healing’s comment, he said, “Right.  I can do that!  Just let me go and --”

“We should speak to Sun.  After all, she rules us all,” another god said.

“That is fair,” Healing said.  “Can Snow go fetch her, please?”

Lucifer was surprised to see a white dragon in the back of the crowd suddenly take flight, shooting up into the sky.  Fascinated, he followed it with his eyes as it seemed to fly into the sun, before he lost sight of it.  

The next thing he knew, a bright ray of sunshine hit the ground some distance away, and an extremely tall, beautiful woman appeared.  She was easily twenty feet tall, wearing layers of colorful brocade robes, and her beauty shone like the sun.  Everyone made way for her as she approached the fallen angel, who found that he couldn’t look at her in the face.  She was much too beautiful to even fathom.  Dropping his eyes to the ground, he respectfully stayed silent.

She bent down in front of him, to see him better.  With a gentle finger she tilted his chin to one side and looked at the collar he wore.

“He belongs to Aphrodite,” she said to the crowd.

That brought Lucifer’s head up.  “No!  No, I don’t --”

 _Yes.  Yes you do,_ the collar whispered.

“You wear her mark.  How can you claim to want help for Compassion when you wear another woman’s mark?”

“This --” the fallen angel yanked viciously at the collar, “-- is a bloody mistake.  I don’t belong to Aphrodite!  I have free will!”

“So they all say, and yet they wait on her, hand and foot,” the giant goddess said.  “I do not wish a war with those hungry Greeks over having someone else’s property -- we’ve lost too much already.”  She rose to her feet.  “Let us return him to Aphrodite.”

Panic filled Lucifer at that statement.  “No -- bloody hell, no!  You can’t --”

The collar started laughing uncontrollably.

The woman looked down at him.  “I am sorry, little angel, but there is nothing we can do.  Had you not been wearing that collar, we may have considered your request....  But you belong to another, and Aphrodite’s mark on you makes it hard for me to believe that you are the one that Compassion had set her heart on.”

Desperately, the fallen angel beseeched the goddess.  “Right.  I know this looks bad.  But bloody hell, will you please just listen? All I want is for Chl-- Compassion to be well.  Do what you want with me -- I don’t care -- but please let her get the help she needs.”

The goddess sighed.  “You make a compelling plea, but I cannot risk a war with the Greeks.”  She motioned to the large warrior with whom Lucifer had battled the day before.  “War, please escort our guest to Sea.  He can get this one to his rightful owner.”

War swiftly took a hold of the fallen angel’s arm in a vice-like grip that he could not break.  The crowd parted as the warrior started to half-drag the struggling fallen angel away.

“Stop!  Let him go!”

All the gods and goddesses froze at the voice, and turned to see a blonde woman on the path behind them.  Lucifer sagged visibly, relief flooding his features.  “Chloe!”

War’s hand had gone slack; the fallen angel broke free of the warrior’s grip and raced to his lover.  With a whoop, he grabbed her and spun her around before hugging her so tightly she could barely breathe.  

“You came,” he whispered, before he pulled back and said with concern, “What are you doing here?”

“I was worried, and you know I’ll always find you,” she said with a smile.  “I came as soon as I could.”

Annoyance furrowed his brow.  “Bloody hell, you’re not supposed to -- the danger...!  I told you I’d come fetch you!”

Chloe glanced at War before she chuckled and caressed Lucifer’s cheek.  “I don’t think I was the one in danger, my love.”

With a bark of laughter, he bent and kissed her.  He hoped for the usual all-consuming passion he normally felt, but when he remained emotionally detached, he wanted to start screaming with rage. The collar snickered in his head; despair ripped into him but he hid it from Chloe, making a good show of pretending that he could feel.  He felt her jerk against him unconsciously, and his heart clenched.  Bloody hell, he had hurt her.  Again.

“We need to get you well,” he said softly.  She nodded, grimacing slightly.

And then suddenly, like a deluge, all of the Old Gods swarmed around the couple, greeting their long lost sibling with joy and laughter.  

 

 


	14. Healing Chloe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You are awesome!

 

 

Chloe sat on some pillows on the living room floor of the small wooden house, with Lucifer next to her.  One of his hands was wrapped around hers tightly, as if he was afraid she would disappear.  Her brother, Healing, was in the kitchen mixing up some sort of tonic, after they explained what had happened to Chloe after she had traded hearts with Lucifer.

Meeting all of the Family had been overwhelming.  She didn’t remember any of them, sadly.  They had instantly recognized her, and many of them had started crying at her appearance.  Smiling, hugging, shaking hands -- she had done all of that without any clue of who she was greeting.  Strangely, the odd shapes and sizes of the gods hadn’t bothered her one bit.  They all had kindness in their eyes, and that was what she responded to.  She could see they were all good people.

“Healing, does anyone have real names here?” she called out to her brother.  “I mean, everyone seems to be identified by their trade, like Swordsmith, or emotion, like Mirth, or something, like Sun....”

Her brother laughed.  “Oh, if you remembered who you are, you wouldn’t be asking that question.  Some of the gods’ names are so long, we’d take all day just exchanging salutations!  No, this method is better.”  He came and sat in front of the couple, his dark eyes merry.  “It is so good to see you, Sister.  I have missed you.”

“I... I wish I could say the same,” she said with regret as he handed her a cup filled with... something.

Healing just shook his head.  “It’s not a problem, I understand.  Seems like you found yourself a fine fellow,” he said as he grinned at Lucifer.  “And it turned out all right in the end, didn’t it, Angel?”

“Right.  You mean, other than getting attacked, beaten and electrocuted, then left in a bloody hole in the ground all night?” he replied dryly with a lifted eyebrow.  “Oh yes, Healing.  Turned out bloody fine.”

The other man took no offense at the sarcasm; he just laughed as if Lucifer had made a joke.  It was mind-boggling to the fallen angel.  The gods here, once they realized he was trying to help Chloe, were so... friendly.  It was definitely an odd feeling.  Unfortunately it put him on edge, since in his own family he’d immediately suspect that they were about to slip a knife between his ribs.  

“By the way, why do you keep calling me Angel?” asked Lucifer suspiciously.  Was the god making fun of him for having Fallen?

Healing blinked at him with surprise.  “Well... isn’t that what you are?”

“I used to be,” he said.  A twinge squeezed his heart; he supposed it would always hurt that he had been thrown out of Heaven, despite all that had happened since then.  With a big intake of breath, he said, “Right.  I’m the Devil now.”

The god stared at him blankly.  “What’s a Devil?”

Lucifer’s mouth dropped.  “You -- you don’t know?”  He couldn’t believe it.  Staring at Chloe’s brother with incredulity, he said, “You know... the Devil.”  At Healing’s continued confusion, he said, “Right.  Bloody hell, you have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

“No....”

Chloe said helpfully, “The Devil is supposed to be the ruler of Hell who is the most powerful spirit of evil.  He goes around encouraging people to do bad things.  Murder, mayhem -- you know, that sort of stuff.”

“Excuse me?!”  Lucifer glared at her.  “My dear Detective, that is not what I do -- did -- at all!  I punished guilty people, you know that!  I never went around and told humans to do evil deeds -- they did that all by themselves!”

Rolling her eyes, the blonde woman replied with exaggerated patience, “Yes, I know that, but I’m trying to tell him what the common conception  --”

“Misconception!” the fallen angel snapped angrily.

With a big sigh, Chloe continued: “ _Mis_ conception, then -- is of the Devil.  You know, so he gets the idea?”

“And that’s you?” the healer asked, then broke out into a boisterous laugh.  “That’s ridiculous!  We do have a ruler of our underworld, but people are ultimately responsible for their own actions.  There are some mischievous spirits who can encourage them to do bad things, but there’s no one big... Devil!  There’s no such thing!”  He laughed again as Lucifer stared at him, agog.

“Bloody hell, are you serious?”  Pointing at Healing, he asked Chloe, “Is he serious?”

“I think he is,” she said.

Lucifer couldn’t believe it.  Imagine -- a world without a Devil?!  Where humans actually took responsibility for their own actions?  It just defied imagination.  Rubbing his face, he wondered, again, if Healing was making fun of him....

Sensing his skepticism, Chloe gave her lover’s hand a squeeze before drinking the tonic her brother had handed her.  It tasted sweet and fruity, like berries.  “What is this I’m drinking?”

“It will help you sleep and get you to soul-walk.  It should dull also the pain you feel from your heart... well, Angel’s heart,” Healing said.  “The strong love you share binds you both together, but the damage -- his suffering -- which you cannot repair in your human state is in the way, causing you pain.  We need to get rid of that.”

Chloe blinked at him, already beginning to feel the effects of the drink.  “Uh... okay.”  

“Come on, lie down,” her brother urged her, as he pulled out some bedding from a closet and laid it out on the floor.  Lucifer helped her get comfortable, before looking up at Healing, who had fetched another tonic for him.  “You need to drink as well -- this will give you the ability to do what needs to be done.  Lie down beside her and keep a good hold of her hand,” Chloe’s brother said.  “She should pull you in.”

“Pull me in?”

The other man nodded.  “Find her soul.  You’ll know what to do once you’re there.  Good luck... and thank you, Angel, for saving my sister.”

Lucifer downed the brew, which tasted like rich chocolate to him, and lay down beside Chloe.  In less than a minute, he was asleep.

 

 

________________________________________________

  


 

Lucifer found himself walking in an endless desert -- nothing but sand dunes, as far as the eye could see.  Hot, dry winds whipped against his face, tousling his hair and throwing grains of sand against his skin.  The sun beat down on him, scorching him with its intensity.  It almost felt like Hell -- almost.  

The fallen angel climbed a tall dune and scanned the horizon.  He knew Chloe was somewhere in this strange landscape -- he just had to find her.  Squinting, his sharp eyes finally caught sight of some movement in the far distance.  It had to be her.  Keeping his eye on his target, he set off at a jog.  The soft sand slowed him down, pulling at his legs with every step as he sunk into it, but he kept on moving.  

Progress was slow; for a while it seemed he wasn’t catching up at all, but eventually he managed to close the gap between them.  It _was_ Chloe.  She was wearing a long dress of some sort that he could see, but it looked... strange.

He tried to call out, but his throat was terribly dry, and all that came out was a croak.  Increasing his speed to a run, he finally caught up to her... and gasped.

The dress she was wearing was made entirely of thorny dried bramble branches, twisting and winding their way around her, almost completely encasing her.  It was a beautiful but deadly gown.  She had wounds all over, but she just kept on moving steadily along, not realizing he was there.

Swallowing hard, he tried to make his voice work.  “Chloe,” he called out hoarsely, and she stopped to look at him.  Surprise lit her features.

“Lucifer!  What are you doing here?”  

“I... I came to help.”  He wanted to sweep her into his arms but he hesitated, not wanting to cause her injury.  “Bloody hell, love!  Have you been carrying this around, all this time?” he asked.

“Well... yes.  I thought it would get better, but it hasn’t.”  Chloe looked down at her thorny dress with puzzlement.  “I break off the branches but they keep growing back.”

“I have to get you out of there,” the fallen angel said as he reached for the brambles.  

“I don’t think you can,” she replied, shaking her head.

“Let me try, love.”  Lucifer began tearing into the branches, trying to break them.  They resisted at first, but eventually began to snap, one by one.  As he worked his way through the dress, his hands grew bloody from the thorns.  Seeing his injuries, Chloe suddenly backed away.

“No -- Lucifer, you’re bleeding.  I can’t let you --” she cried, but he grabbed her hand in his and prevented her escape.

“Yes, you can, my dear.  It’s my suffering you’re carrying around.  Let me.”

“No, Lucifer --”  She tried to wrench out of his grip.  “I won’t let you get hurt because of me.”

“Chloe.”  Just saying her given name made her pause, and he took the opportunity to reach for her other hand.  “Do you trust me?”

She gave him one of her annoyed looks.  “You have to ask?”

“Then trust me now, love.”  He gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze.  “Be still, my dear, and let me help.”

After releasing her hands, he proceeded to remove the brambles.  Some of the thorns had embedded themselves into her skin; Lucifer tried to be gentle as he slowly pulled those out, drawing blood as he did so.  He hissed through his teeth at the wounds.  “Does it hurt, love?” he asked.

Chloe shook her head.  “Barely....  I’m surprised.  Usually the pain is much worse.”

Grimacing, the fallen angel continued to work.  “This is my fault.  You should have left my bloody heart with me --”

“No,” she said, shaking her head.  “This was my choice.  I couldn’t let you suffer.”

“Bloody hell, do you think I want to see you suffer instead?!” he snapped as he finally got down to the last two large branches, which stemmed out of her chest.  They were almost as thick as his wrist. Glancing up at Chloe, he caught her eye.  “Are you ready, my dear?”

At her nod, Lucifer took a firm grip of one of the branches and began to pull.  At first Chloe’s chest moved forward with it, but he put a restraining hand on her shoulder and continued his efforts.  With a large, sucking sound, the giant hooked bramble came out.  The fallen angel threw it away angrily, then gripped the last branch.  

“Here we go, love.”  It was the hardest one to remove, but Lucifer kept at it until the bramble finally let go.  As soon as he pulled out the last piece, Chloe’s chest closed up as if there had never been any wound.  Her legs went out from under her, and the fallen angel scrambled to catch her.

Sagging against him, Chloe said, “Oh thank god, what a relief.”

“Not Dad, love!  You have me to thank -- me!” Lucifer cried, which made the woman in his arms chuckle.

“Yes, you.  Thank you, my love.”  She reached up and caressed his cheek.  With a hand behind his head, she guided his lips to hers and kissed him passionately.

 

 

________________________________________________

  


 

Lucifer woke up in Healing’s house with a start.  A part of him mourned the missed opportunity of a kiss from Chloe, but then again....  His hand crept up to the iron collar and yanked at it.  Who knew if he would even feel anything?  

 _Of course you wouldn’t feel anything,_ it whispered. _You only belong to Aphrodite...._

The Devil clenched his teeth and tried to control his rage.  For an instant his eyes burned red before he squeezed them tightly.  Taking a deep breath, he levered himself up; a quick glance to his side showed him that Chloe still slept.  Her brother, who sat beside her, shifted his gaze to him when he sat up.

“How do you feel?” Healing asked.

He shook his head.  “Bloody hell, that was a very strange experience.”  

“Soul walks usually are,” the god said.  “But I’m glad you were able to help her.  She seems to be resting much easier now.”

Leaning over her, the fallen angel studied Chloe’s face in repose.  “How long before she wakes up?”

“Not long.  I’ll be outside if you need me.”  

Healing stood and left quietly, but Lucifer didn’t even notice.  Very gently he caressed his lover’s cheek, before leaning over and brushing her lips with his.  When her eyes fluttered and slowly opened, he smiled down at her.

“Hello, love,” he whispered.

She smiled back.  “Hello.”  

“How do you feel?”

With shining eyes, she said, “Kiss me and I’ll tell you.”

Always one to oblige, Lucifer bent over and started with a soft kiss before deepening it.  He could almost feel -- but no.  Nothing.  Hiding it the best he could, he used all of his skill and technique as the Devil to bring out a passionate response from her.

_She can tell, you know -- that you feel nothing.  You can’t fool her so you may as well leave her...._

The collar’s comments only made him try harder.  When he finally drew back, her eyes were cloudy with desire and her face flushed.  Despair flooded through him when he felt nothing at how beautiful she looked.  His heart wanted so much to take her right there, but there was that bloody part of him that stood back at a distance, not participating.  It infuriated him, but he struggled not to show it.  He wasn’t angry at Chloe, and he certainly didn’t want her to think that he was.  He refused to give in to the bloody collar that was trying to strip him of his free will.

“Any pain?” He asked.

With a blinding smile, she said, “None at all.  Thank you for saving me.”

“Well, let’s get you up, my dear,” Lucifer said as he helped her into a sitting position.  Wobbling a bit, Chloe grabbed his arm to steady herself.

“Wow, that drink that Healing made sure works well,” she said with a laugh.

“Indeed,” he replied, suddenly wondering if perhaps the healer could help him with his problem...?  “Your brother is outside.  I’ll go get him, if you’d like to wait here?”

At her nod, the fallen angel went out to the front and started searching for Chloe’s brother.  He found the other man in the garden at the back, harvesting some vegetables.  Healing caught sight of him over his shoulder.

“How is she, Angel?” he asked.

“Well, thanks to you,” he answered.  

Healing smiled.  “And you.”

Shrugging, Lucifer took a few steps forward.  “Right.  Listen, Healing... I was wondering if you could help me?”

That got the god’s attention.  After putting his harvest in a basket, he straightened and stretched his back before walking up to the fallen angel.  “What can I help you with?”

“I...  I have this problem....”

Lucifer felt bloody uncomfortable discussing his problem with Chloe’s brother, but if he wanted help, he’d have to do it.  Taking a deep breath, he said, “Ever since I got this thing --” he yanked on the collar, “-- put on me, it’s been trying to bend my will.  I...  I can’t....  I can’t feel anything.”

Healing’s eyebrows furrowed as concern washed over his features.  “You can’t feel...?”

“Anything.  Well, anything when it comes to loving Chl-- Compassion.  It’s like I’m looking at myself through a bloody window.  Can you... can you help?”  Unbeknownst to the fallen angel, his eyes were pleading as he asked, “Might you have a tonic or something, to fix this?”

A sigh escaped Healing, and he shook his head.  “I’m sorry, Angel.  It’s that mark you wear.  It would override anything I did.”

Hope fell to the wayside, leaving despair in its wake.  Lucifer’s shoulders slumped.  “Oh.”

Waving to the tall man to have a seat on a nearby bench, Healing grabbed a short stool and sat across from him.  Holding the basket of vegetables on his lap, he said, “But there is something I can help you with.”

Lucifer perked up at that. “Oh?”

“Tell me how you got that,” the god said, pointing to the iron collar.

A stubborn look came into the fallen angel’s face.  “I... can’t.  Bloody hell, I don’t want to.”

“Look, Angel, I can feel suffering, and you’re suffering.  Let me help.  Tell me what happened.”

He wasn’t sure why, but Lucifer suddenly felt like he could unburden himself on the god.  Perhaps it was because he was a stranger...?  He didn’t know.  For a long moment he was silent; then in a hesitant voice, he told Healing about how he was captured and tortured by Aphrodite.

“It was bloody stupid to get captured,” he finished.  “Now I’m stuck with dreams... nightmares telling me I’ll never be free, and a bloody lack of feeling.”  He laughed derisively, a harsh bark filled with fury, as he yanked on the collar.  “And to top it all off, I’m stuck with this bloody thing talking to me at times, telling me how I don’t love Chloe -- Compassion -- and that I’m only Aphrodite’s.”

“Let’s put the issue of the mark aside for now.  Do you blame yourself for getting captured?”

Lucifer looked away, wondering what he felt.  “Yes,” he finally said.  “I do.”

“Why?”

“I was bloody stupid, going to the wrong plane --”

“But you didn’t know it was wrong, did you?”

Blinking, the fallen angel said slowly, “No....”

“And everything you did was to help my sister.  Your intentions were good.  So why are you blaming yourself?  Nothing that happened was your fault.  You’re the victim here.”

“But --”  Lucifer broke off and fell silent, considering the god’s words.

“You’re a good man, Angel.  Aphrodite is the one who is in the wrong.”  Healing paused for a moment, studying the man before him.  “You also feel angry.”

Nodding, Lucifer said, “Furious.  I felt so... helpless.  Bloody hell, it was a horrid feeling.  I... I don’t know how to handle it.  I just want to hit -- no, kill -- that goddess.”

“That’s completely understandable,” Healing said.  For a long moment he was silent, immersed in contemplation, before looking deep into the other man’s eyes. “I know you’re angry -- you have a right to be -- but anger is a corrosive emotion.  You need to let this go before it eats you alive -- and it will, if you let it.  Let me help you.  You’re too good of a man for me to let you drown in this torment.”  He reached over and grasped the fallen angel’s hand.  Lucifer felt a strange warmth radiating from the god’s touch, and suddenly it felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his soul.

“I... I feel better,” Lucifer said with surprise.

“Good.”  Healing smiled.  “You’ll always have the memory of what happened to you, and I’m sorry for that, but hopefully it won’t hurt as much anymore.  And let Compassion help you -- she loves you.”  The god suddenly stood up, causing the Devil to jump at the abrupt movement.  “Listen, I’d like to talk to my sister for a bit.  Do you think you can take these vegetables to Snow?  She likes munching on them from time to time.”

Lucifer blinked.  “The white dragon?”

“That’s the one.  She’s down the road a ways.  You’ll pass a large meadow on the right.  She likes to sun herself there.”

The fallen angel eyed Healing suspiciously.  “Right.  Bloody hell, you’re sending me to get eaten, aren’t you?”

The god laughed uproariously.  “No, no, Angel.  Snow’s a pescetarian!  Now, go on.”  He handed the basket to Lucifer and gave him a friendly shove.  After watching the fallen angel amble down the road, the god headed inside to talk with his sister.

 

 


	15. A Little Fun Before Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-big thank you to Vendetta1897 for suggesting Lucifer should try a water sport. Thank you, hope this doesn't disappoint!
> 
> And a super-big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme, for all your hard work! You're the best!

 

 

“How do you feel?”

Chloe jumped at the voice and looked at Healing a little guiltily as he walked into the house.  Curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she was looking at all of the herbs and powders in his kitchen.

“Oh, uh... much better, thanks,” she said as she stepped away from the cabinet.  Healing grinned at her.

“It’s okay, you can look.  It’s nothing you haven’t seen already,” he said with good humor, but Chloe shook her head.  Her brother beckoned her into the living room, where he opened a sliding door to the veranda, revealing a beautiful landscaped yard.  They sat down on the floor, across from each other.

“I’m glad to have a chance to talk to you, Sister,” he said.  “It’s been a long time.  How are you?”

“I’m... good,” she said a little uncomfortably.  Healing was supposed to be her brother, but she really didn’t know him at all.  Her police instincts weren’t going off, though, so she figured he must mean no harm.

Glancing out at the garden, the god said, “I like Angel.  I can see why you chose him.”

“Really?”  Chloe’s eyebrows shot up.  

“Mm, he’s a good man,” Healing said as he turned to face her.  “You never could resist helping those who were suffering... and he suffers quite a bit, doesn’t he?  More than most.”

“Lucifer does suffer a lot, but...  I don’t remember choosing him, Healing.  I don’t remember anything at all, except my life on Earth.”

Her brother nodded.  “I know, and it’s a shame.  I get the feeling you still don’t believe all of this, do you?”

Chloe shook her head.  “No... not really.”

“But you can do all of these special things -- does that mean nothing?” Healing asked.

“It’s just a...  It’s not real.”

Her brother grinned.  “I see.  And the fact that you are in love with an angel -- that’s not real either?”

The blonde woman looked up at him with a wry smile.  “Well, that’s hard not to believe when you’re faced with it every day.”

“What about the fact that you’re here?  And me?  Am I an illusion, as well?”  At her silence, Healing leaned forward, suddenly serious.  “Look, Compassion --”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?”

Chloe sighed.  “I...  I drove God mad, Healing.  I drove him mad.”  She quickly explained to her brother everything that had happened to her since meeting Lucifer.  “I don’t want to be a goddess if that’s the kind of person I’m going to turn into.  I’m just me, Chloe Decker -- a normal, average human.  That’s it.”

“I understand,” Healing said, “but you cannot deny who you are.  Your subconscious has already accepted it -- you can travel planes and heal Angel when you are sleeping.  Think of how much good you can do for your angel, if your conscious mind would just accept it.  He needs you desperately, Compassion.  You’re the only one who can help him now.”

A sudden fear at his words gripped her.  “What do you mean?”

“He needs you to ease his suffering,” Healing said, “and right now he suffers greatly.”

Chloe looked sharply at her brother.  “What?”

“I can’t say anymore -- it’s not my place,” the god said, shaking his head.  “Just... believe in yourself.  You can do anything, if you put your mind to it.  You were always good at that, Compassion.”  At her long silence, he said, “I know it’s hard for you, but can you think about it, at least?”  

She nodded.  “I’ll... I’ll try.”

“Good.”  Healing suddenly stood up.  “Let’s find your angel and see if we can do something fun for the rest of the afternoon, shall we?  It will get your mind off of dark thoughts for a while, which will help make everything more clear.  I assume you’ll have to go back to Earth soon...?”

“Yes, but... not yet.  I don’t feel the pull yet.”

“Very well.  Come, come!  The other gods will be angry at me for monopolizing you!”

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Lucifer walked along the road, fidgeting with the basket of vegetables while looking for the snow goddess.  Despite what Healing had said about the dragon only eating seafood and vegetables, he really didn’t believe it.  That white beast could easily swallow him whole!

Finally coming upon the meadow, the fallen angel was surprised to see the long, undulating body of the dragon coiled like a snake.  Her white, opalescent scales shimmered in the sunlight like jewels.  For a moment Lucifer paused, admiring the pure beauty of the beast, before Snow opened a big, blue eye and looked at him.

“Ah... right.  Healing asked me to bring these to you,” he said nervously as he lifted the basket of vegetables.  Refusing to venture any closer, he stayed on the road.

Snow lifted her head and studied him carefully; Lucifer felt like he was under a microscope.  After a very long, uncomfortable pause, she gestured him forward with her tail.  

“I’d rather stay here....”

Cocking her head at him, Snow gestured again more firmly.  With a sigh, the fallen angel gingerly stepped off the road and into the long, lush grass.  

“Very well.  I better not walk into any of your droppings, though,” he warned, which made the dragon chuff out a laugh.  As Lucifer approached, she opened her mouth wide, which stopped him dead in his tracks.  “Bloody hell, are you going to eat me?  Healing said you were a pescetarian --”

Lucifer never knew until then that a dragon could look insulted.  Snapping her mouth shut, Snow glared at him, then looked at the basket of vegetables.  Once again opening her wide maw, she waited patiently.  It took a few seconds for Lucifer to realize what she wanted. 

“Oh!  Right.”  Still not trusting the big beast, he very quickly dumped the vegetables from the basket into her mouth before leaping back.  The sight of the white dragon chewing, her eyes half closed in bliss, brought a funny feeling of happiness to fallen angel.  Studying her carefully, he said, “I don’t suppose...?”

Snow stopped chewing, swallowed, and looked at him with interest.

Shifting from one foot to another, Lucifer gathered up his courage and asked, “I don’t suppose you can get this thing off of me, can you?”  He yanked at the collar.  “You look bloody strong....”

The dragon lifted her head and suddenly swung very close to him, her big blue eye taking a close look at the iron ring.  Her proximity had him taking a nervous step backward.  One blink, two -- then she slowly shook her head.  Lucifer’s shoulders fell with disappointment.

“Oh.  Right.”

Sensing his hopelessness, Snow butted her big head up against him.  Almost as a reflex he started petting her -- it was comforting, and made him feel a little better.  That was how Chloe and Healing found him.  

Lucifer jumped when he heard Chloe call his name.  Whirling around, his face red with embarrassment, he instantly yanked his hands back from the dragon as if burned and called back, “Detective!”

The blonde woman was looking at him with a big smile on her face.  “You big softie, you,” she said.

Practically running to the road, Lucifer objected, “I beg your pardon!  The Devil is not a big softie!”

To his dismay, both Chloe and Healing laughed at him, before the god said, “We’re going to do something fun for the afternoon, Angel -- get our minds off of dark thoughts.  Come along!”

  
  


________________________________________________

  
  


After walking back to the village with Chloe and Healing, Lucifer found himself in the midst of a number of Old Gods.  Not sure how they would react to him, he kept his guard up.  Once Healing explained to the other gods how Lucifer had saved Chloe’s life, however, everyone warmed right up to him.  The fallen angel found it very strange and uncomfortable.  His own family had never really laughed and joked with him, as these gods did.  He wasn’t even sure how to react.

After the healer god announced that they were going to have some fun, Fire, being about the same size as Lucifer, lent the fallen angel some swimming trunks.  Another goddess lent Chloe a swimsuit. Then, all as one, the small group of gods headed to the little dock at the small cove.

A burly god, Boatbuilder, was already there with a fleet of small sailing dinghies.  Everyone greeted him with a wave, and started getting ready to sail.

Lucifer eyed the little boats with trepidation.  The skiffs with their triangular sails looked a bit... unreliable.  This was what the Old Gods did for fun?  Float around on tiny pieces of wood that looked like they would flip over at a moment’s notice?!  He shook his head.  Well, he supposed it was only natural, seeing as how they were on a plane with a giant expanse of ocean, but still.... As he watched, various gods and goddesses took to their own boats and started sailing the blue ocean waters.  Chloe glanced at him, a smile playing on her face.

“Are you nervous?” she asked.

“Bloody child’s play,” he boasted, although he didn’t have much confidence in those tiny boats....

“You’ll probably want to keep those tucked in,” Chloe said, pointing to his wings, which Lucifer promptly folded.  “And are you sure you don’t want me to sail with you?  I was on the sailing team in college and can help you....”

“Please, love!” he scoffed.  “The Devil needs no coddling.  Surely it can’t be that hard...?”

Chloe’s smile turned into a grin as she gave him a look that said he was crazy.  “All right, Lucifer....”

Boatbuilder motioned them over at the dock, holding the metal shrouds of a tiny boat.  He was grinning from ear to ear.  “Got you a good boat, Angel.  You ready?”

“Absolutely,” he muttered as he stepped in.  The boat immediately tipped madly to one side, and he slid right between the boat and the dock, ending up in the water. The fallen angel came up sputtering.

“You have to step into the middle of the boat,” the burly god advised kindly.  He glanced worriedly at Chloe.  “Are you sure he’s up to sailing, Compassion?”

She shrugged, still grinning.  “He says he is.”

Lucifer hauled himself onto the dock, dripping water all over the place.  “Bloody hell!  Why can’t you make those things more stable?”

“It  _ is _ stable -- the daggerboard’s down,” Boatbuilder said, pointing to a part of the boat that didn’t look like anything to Lucifer.  He eyed the fallen angel suspiciously.  “Have you ever sailed before?”

“Well....” hedged the Devil.  “I figured I’d pick it up as I went along.”

“Sun and Moon....” the god groaned with an eyeroll.  “Okay, look.  Crash course in sailing.  That line there --” Boatbuilder pointed at a rope attached to the main sail with a series of pulleys, “ -- is your mainsheet.  It controls the sail.  Let your sail out until it luffs, then pull it in until it stops.  If you get hit by a puff, ease --”

“What’s taking you so long, Angel?” the goddess Mirth yelled at him with a laugh as she sailed by.  “You scared?”

“Bloody hell,” he growled as he managed to get into the boat.

“Wait, I’m not done --” the burly god called to him as he started to sail away, but Chloe stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“It’s okay, Boatbuilder,” she said.  “He’ll be okay.  I’ll stick close to him.”

His eyes narrowed.  “Why do I have the feeling you’re enjoying this?”

She laughed.  “Oh, Lucifer is good at everything.  It’s nice to see him be... human for a while.”

“Good thing that boat doesn’t have a jib,” the god muttered as he went to fetch a boat for Chloe.  “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Hopping into the boat with ease, Chloe was surprised how quickly her old sailing skills came back to her.  Or maybe it was her past life as a goddess here in a world of water?  She didn’t know.  She only knew that it felt good to be in a sailing dinghy again.

Boatbuilder gave her boat a good shove off and she eased her sail, catching the wind and quickly catching up to Lucifer who was struggling with his sail.  Beaming at him, she said, “Ease your sail -- you’re overtrimmed.”

“Bloody hell, how do you manage this tippy little contraption?” he complained as his sail caught a puff of wind and scooted his boat quickly along the water.  He was having trouble with the tiller, pushing it in the direction he wanted to go, which caused the boat to veer in the opposite direction.

Chloe yelled directions at him as he learned to control the sail and the tiller, and she could see his confidence starting to build.  It warmed her heart to see him smiling at his newly acquired skills.  They turned upwind, and as the little vessel tilted she instructed him to pull his sail in, get his feet in the straps at the bottom of the boat and lean back over the rail to counterbalance the forces on the sail.  

Lucifer whooped with happiness.  It was almost as good as flying... until the first turn. He forgot to change sides on the boat, and the little dinghy capsized.  

“Are you okay?” the blonde woman yelled at him.  

Treading water, the fallen angel said, “Bloody hell, how do I get this bloody thing back on its feet?”

Chloe purposely capsized her boat so that she could demonstrate righting it.  The fallen angel caught on fast, hopping back into his little dinghy with ease.  And then he was back sailing across the waves like the very Devil he was... until the next time he tried turning away from the wind and didn’t ease the sail.  Splash!  Back into the water he went.

All the gods and goddesses were watching and laughing, but it was good-natured amusement and nothing malicious.  They had all been in the same situation at one point or another, and they looked at the fallen angel with approval when he wouldn’t give up.

After sailing for a while, when Lucifer had finally gotten the hang of things, War scooted by him with a smirk.  How that monstrous giant could fit in the tiny boat without it overturning was a mystery to the fallen angel.  “Wanna race, flyboy?  Think you can beat me?”

“Bloody hell -- you’re on!  Eat my wake, you sod!” Lucifer yelled back with a whoop and a grin.  The two boats were off like a shot upwind, as the other gods and goddesses laughed and cheered.  Watching the interaction between the Old Gods and the angel, Chloe smiled, feeling relief course through her.  For a little while, at least, the world felt right.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

After the little sailing competition, Chloe sadly informed the gods and goddesses that she had to leave.  Many of them wept openly at the announcement.  Lucifer had never seen such an outpouring of emotion.  His own family hadn’t even blinked when he had Fallen, so it was difficult for him to understand the love these people had for Chloe.

“You will come back, won’t you?” Weaver asked.

“Well, I don’t know....”  Chloe said, with a glance at her lover.  “I guess it depends.”

War walked up to the fallen angel and clasped a hand on his shoulder.  “I’m sorry about when you first came here, Angel.  Thank you for saving Compassion.”

The torrent of gratitude Lucifer received from the gods for his role in helping Chloe shocked him -- they all shook his hand, and in some cases, hugged him.  They wept for him too, asking him to come back so that they could get to know him better.  Everyone was so... nice, and it filled his chest with so much warmth that it scared him.  An overwhelming urge to run away and start bawling came over him, so instead he took a step backward, taking refuge behind his lover.

Healing finally came up and hugged Chloe.  “I’ll miss you, Sister.  I hope you’ll come and visit again.  Don’t let it go so long next time.”  Whispering in her ear, he said, “I hope to see the baby, someday.”

Chloe blushed, and said, “You know about that?”

He laughed.  “I’m a healer, Sister.  Of course I’d know!”  He then turned to the man behind her.  “Thank you, Lucifer.  Take good care of her -- we’ll all be depending on you.  Tell Wisdom we miss him.  As for Storm... tell him that Sun is still angry at him, but she’s starting to calm down.”

“Right.  We will.  Thank  _ you, _ Healing,” the fallen angel said with a meaningful glance as he threw an arm around Chloe’s shoulders.  Wrapping one arm tight around the fallen angel’s waist, the blonde woman waved with her other hand.  Lucifer waved as well, his face serious.  If anyone had been looking closely, they would have seen the wistfulness in his eyes.  “Goodbye!” they both called out.

The vertigo pulled at Chloe, and both of them left the plane of the Old Gods behind.

 


	16. First Feat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! Your editing skills are awesome -- thank you!

 

 

At some point, Chloe felt Lucifer let go of her on the way back home; she was alone in her bed when she awoke.  Disappointment shot through her.  She had hoped that they could spend some alone time together, seeing as how Trixie was spending the entire weekend at Penelope’s cabin, and she no longer had that horrible pain in her chest....  

It was puzzling that Lucifer wouldn’t come home with her.  Perhaps it had to do with his lack of feelings from the collar?  But he seemed fine on the other plane....  Chloe’s eyes narrowed at the thought of her lover trying to hide something from her.  Remembering her brother’s words about how he was suffering, she decided to go to him.  

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

After a long, hot shower, Lucifer stood in front of the shattered mirror in his bathroom and sighed.  He’d have to get that fixed.  His hand reached up and tugged at the collar as he cursed it.  It felt cold against his skin, despite the hot shower.  If it hadn’t been for this bloody thing, he could have gone home with Chloe and made sweet love to her all day long --  well, for as long as they could before her little spawn came across them.  

 _Sure,_ the collar whispered.   _Keep telling yourself that.  You know as well as I do that the only one you can ever love is Aphrodite._

“Shut _up!”_ he snarled at it.  “I have free will and can love whomever I want!”

Not only was the lack of free will appalling, his lack of emotions whenever he was with Chloe also really worried him.  Being a creature of passion, having his desire blunted was beginning to drive him mad.  Was this what happened to all of Aphrodite’s pets?   

And that goddess had said that the collar tethered them together -- could she trace him here?  He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration.  He couldn’t afford to have Aphrodite wind up on Earth and hurt Chloe, her child, or the child on the way -- the one which he really had to start thinking about, now that his dear detective was well....  

Turning back to his original problem, he yanked at the metal ring.  There had to be some way of getting this wretched collar off!  He pushed it upward, turning his head this way and that in an effort to get it past his jaw, but to no avail.  

_Come now, Lucifer.... You know you can never get rid of me.  Just face it.  I’m a part of you now._

Despair flooded through him, far worse than when he had Fallen.  The thought that he was a fox with his leg caught in a trap flashed through his mind.  The fox would gnaw off his own leg to get free -- could he gnaw off his own head?  When a laugh tinged with hysteria bubbled up from inside him, he bit down on the inside of his cheek hard to force it back.  Covering his eyes with one of his hands, he realized he _was_ going mad....

“Lucifer?”

He jumped at the sound of Chloe’s voice coming from the living room.  “Coming, love!” he called back as he hurriedly dressed.  He tried to hide the iron ring completely under his shirt, but to no avail -- he couldn’t even button up and put on a tie to hide it!  Leaving his shirt collar open, he took one last look at himself before facing his lover.  He looked bloody ridiculous with that iron thing around his neck.  His shoulders fell and he shook his head, before plastering a smile on his face and meeting Chloe in the other room.

“Hello, love!” he greeted in an upbeat tone.  Expecting to see her smiling countenance, he was surprised when he was met with narrowed eyes and a suspicious look on her face.

“Why didn’t you come home with me?” she asked.

“Oh.  Ah.  Well....” he started, then petered out.  What could he say?  I don’t feel anything for you?  I’m dead inside?  Help me?  He settled with, “I wanted to take a shower....” which was the truth.  He had taken a shower -- in fact, she could probably still see that his hair was damp.

“Hmmm,” she murmured as she continued to eye him.  “What are you not telling me?”

“I -- I....”

Chloe watched him and frowned.  He was definitely hiding something, and all of her detective senses were on high alert.  Taking the bull by the horns, she walked right up to him, pulled his head down and kissed him with everything she had.

Lucifer started at her actions and didn’t have time to hide his lack of reaction before she pulled back from him.  Her eyes searched his; she could see the fear and panic in his gaze, and he could see the concern in hers.

Sighing, she pulled him into her arms and just held him.  The fallen angel returned her embrace, resting his cheek against her hair, while cursing Aphrodite to hell and back.  

“You’re suffering,” Chloe said quietly.

“I....”  He wanted to lie, to tell her he was fine, but couldn’t.  “Yes.”

He felt her nod against his chest.  “Then we have to fix this,” she said.

“I don’t think we can, love.”  There was nothing but sadness in Lucifer’s tone.  “Not unless we can get this bloody thing off, and that’s proving to be impossible.”

Chloe looked up at him then, her eyes filled with that fire he loved so much.  “We _are_ going to fix this, Lucifer.”  Guiding him over to the couch, she sat him down, then took a spot next to him.  Taking his hand in hers, she said, “Healing -- no, _my brother_ \-- said that I need to accept what I am, and that I can do anything when I put my mind to it.”  

Her eyes filled with determination, she said, “I will not let you suffer.  I’m putting my mind to this.  We _will_ fix this.”

“Chloe --” he started, but she stopped him with a gentle brush of her lips on his.  

“I’m not going to let some crazy goddess take you away from me.  I’m a goddess too, damn it.... And I will not lose you, my love.”   With shaking fingers, the blonde woman unbuttoned his shirt until she fully revealed the iron collar that encircled his neck.  

Lucifer felt -- he wasn’t sure what he felt.  Ashamed, maybe, that he had on a collar like a dog.  He shook his head once, as he found himself shifting to get away from her.  Why?  He couldn’t understand why --

Then it dawned on him -- the collar.  The damned collar was making him do things he normally would not do, like run away from Chloe.  Gripping the cushions under him like a lifeline, he forced himself to stay still under her hands.  

_Do you really think this trollop can help you?  You’re Aphrodite’s, Lucifer.  You always will be._

_Shut up,_ he screamed at the collar.  _Shut up!_

Chloe kissed his collarbone, then removed his shirt completely.  Tossing it to one side, she ran a hand across his chest, then touched the metal ring.  “I’m not going to hurt you, my dear,” she whispered.  “Relax.”

Lucifer complied, leaning against the couch’s backrest.  Chloe snuggled up next to his side.  Very gently, his lover slipped her fingers between his neck and the iron, and gripped the ring.  For a brief moment the fallen angel was reminded of the dream he had of Aphrodite, pulling him toward her by the collar, but this was Chloe....  Chloe! he reminded himself.

“I’m a goddess, goddamn it,” he heard her mutter to herself.  “I can do this.”

Caressing his face gently with her other hand, she looked deep into his eyes.  “Please, Lucifer... kiss me.  And when you do, try to remember what you used to feel.”

Chloe leaned close, letting her lips stay temptingly close to his, waiting for him to close the gap.  With just a millimeter of movement on his part, his lips were on hers.  Trying hard to remember the burning passion he always felt when near her, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with everything he had.  

Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  He heard the collar laugh at him, and grimaced.  Pulling back, he said, “It’s useless --”

“Again,” she commanded.  A part of Lucifer’s brain wondered why her hand remained clenched around the collar.

He kissed her again... and again, nothing.  He felt her readjust her grip on the metal ring.

“I’m a goddess, damn it!”  Looking into his eyes, she urged him, “Again.”

It was a sure sign the collar still had a hold of him when he didn’t jump to obey her request.  “I don’t think --”

She leaned close and kissed him, cutting off his words.  She rested her free hand on his cheek and ran her fingers across his stubble, causing him to shiver from the sensation.  Surely a shiver was good...?

“I love you, Lucifer Morningstar,” she whispered as she leaned forward again.  “Feel my love for you... and feel your love for me.”  

Looking deep into her eyes, Lucifer felt his heart clench.  He wanted to, so much!  If only....  Drawing close, he kissed her gently while reaching deep inside himself for the old fire.

Just about to give up hope, the fallen angel suddenly started to feel... something.  Joy shot through him as he realized that some part of him was no longer detached.  Running his hands over her back, he deepened the kiss.  

Yes, there it was!  That desire they always shared, that hot passion that burned between them!  Freedom -- freedom at last!  Free to choose, free to love....  Before he knew what he was doing, he had positioned them so that she was lying under him.  His hands caressed her body as he continued to kiss her.  Finally pulling back for air, he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers.

“Chloe...!” he breathed, warmth filling his entire being.  He couldn’t believe it -- somehow she had given him back his free will and his passion for her!  Love flooded him, overwhelming him so much that he could barely think.  How could he show her how bloody grateful he was?  He had no idea -- he’d figure out a way later -- but right now he’d bring Heaven to her doorstep.  That much he could do.  His lips sought hers as one of his hands went to the front of her blouse and started to unbutton it.  It had been so long....

And then something caught his attention.  With the excitement of getting his desire back, he hadn’t noticed, but now....  It was an odor, like something burning.  He had smelled it before, on the battlefields in Heaven.  Burning flesh.  Pulling back, he looked at her with a cocked head and fear in his eyes.

“Chloe?”

He realized her eyes were not filled with passion, but pain, and her face had gone ash white.  He tried to pull away from her, but her hand was still clenched around the collar.  “Chloe!”

“H-how do you feel, my love?” she managed to say.

“Bloody hell, love -- what have you done?”  Fear filled Lucifer as he worked at her fingers around the collar.

“Tell me,” she said stubbornly.  “Can you feel now?”

“Yes -- you have to let go.  Please -- let go!”  The fallen angel’s hands struggled to remove her grip from the collar, but he couldn’t get her to release it.  “Bloody hell, love, let go!”

Chloe smiled at him.  “You’re free, Lucifer....  The collar....  I tried to burn its power out.  I got most of it, I think...”  She chuckled weakly.  “My first feat as a goddess.... You can feel now, can’t you?”

He nodded vigorously.  “Yes, yes, love, yes.  Now please _let go!”_

With a sigh, she released her hand.  It was terribly burnt, resembling an angry, deformed claw.  Lucifer went into a panic.  “No no nonono --”

“Call Rafe,” she whispered, before passing out.

 


	17. The Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You rock!

 

 

“Flex your fingers, if you can.”

Sitting next to the healer angel on Lucifer’s couch, Chloe opened and closed her left hand, which rested in Raphael’s gentle grasp.  The skin felt stretchy as she moved her fingers.  “It feels all right.”

The angel lightly touched the center of the angry scar on her palm.  “Can you feel that?”

She nodded.  “Just fine.”  

Raphael nodded.  “Good, good.  You’re lucky....  Human medicine wouldn’t have been able to help you, with that third degree burn.  But don’t worry -- you have a fully functioning hand.  I can’t do anything about that scar, though.  You’ll have that for the rest of your life.”

Lucifer, hovering anxiously nearby, asked, “Why is that?”

His brother looked up at him.  “I’m not sure....  It might have to do with the fact that she was fighting another god’s power.”   

They had briefly told him about how Chloe had gotten burned, although they didn’t mention why she tried to burn out the collar.  Raphael just shook his head.

“You have to be more careful, Chloe,” he admonished.  “It’s not just you, anymore.”

“Right.  Are you talking about me?” Lucifer asked.  “Because I’ll make sure she takes care of herself from now on --”

Raphael rolled his eyes.  “Not you, you ass!  The baby!  The baby you keep ignoring!  That you _both_ keep ignoring!”  Letting out a frustrated exclamation, he continued, “Look.  Chloe, you need to start taking care of yourself.  Lucifer, you need to _pull yourself together_.  Chloe’s going to start getting more tired, her body will start to change, and the baby’s going to keep growing.  You have to take care of her, okay?”

Without waiting for an answer, the angel stood up and headed for the balcony.  When he got there, he turned to the couple.  “Listen, Lucifer, if Chloe needs me, have Amenadiel call me.  We can’t hear you upstairs because you don’t have Father’s grace anymore, but I’ll keep an ear out for Amenadiel.  I’ll help as much as I can.

“And you know, you won’t be able to keep the baby secret from our siblings forever.  Eventually, the Council will find out and things will get real ugly, real fast.  You best prepare yourselves.”  With that, Raphael took off for home.

Lucifer couldn’t think of any of that now -- his mind was too full of Chloe.  With a sigh, he sat himself down beside his lover and took her hand in his.  Studying it carefully, he traced the angry scar with his finger.  Without looking up, he said quietly, “You can’t be doing things like this, love.  I can’t have you --”

She cut off his words by leaning forward and kissing him softly on the cheek.  “Don’t be silly.  It was well worth it, my love.  Well worth it.  Besides, you got this --” she touched the iron collar, “-- because of me.”

“No, not because of you!” Lucifer protested as he looked sharply at Chloe, but she spoke over his objections.

“Yes, because of me.  You went looking for my brother and got this.”

“This was from my own stupidity, my dear.  And I had to get you well again.  You were in pain because of me!”  He glanced at her as he clasped her hand in both of his, his face full of concern... and puzzlement.  “Why would you do this, love?  Why?”

“Because I love you, Lucifer Morningstar,” she said simply, her eyes shining.  “This is what people do when they love each other.”

The fallen angel’s heart felt so full of emotion that he thought it would burst.  Human emotions that he couldn’t comprehend ran rampant through him, causing complete chaos with his composure.  Suddenly feeling a terrible urge to weep, he pushed it back and managed a lopsided smile.

Seeing the gamut of emotions cross his face, Chloe smiled.  “And you would have done the same for me.”

“In a heartbeat,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms.  “In a heartbeat, my dear Detective.”

Chloe smiled against his chest, then leaned back to look at him.  “I think you should show me that you can feel again.  I have to be sure.”

Feelings such as he’d never felt flowed unchecked through Lucifer -- how he loved her!  Someday he’d show her how much she meant to him, but for now he settled for a wicked grin.   “Splendid!  It may take some time...” he said as he swept her up in his arms.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she chuckled as he took her to his bed.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Lucifer stared down at Chloe snuggled up next to him as they lay in bed.  He couldn’t believe how wonderful it felt to have her back in his arms -- to be loving her.  The intense feelings that had welled in him as he took her had shaken him to the core.  There was such depth to these strange human emotions!  Raising him up to unfathomable heights, he had ridden their crest until he reached the very pinnacle of Heaven.  He didn’t understand them, but he reveled in the joy they brought him.  And the reason for them?  This beautiful woman who lay in his arms, who had given him her heart, as he had given her his.  He couldn’t even begin to imagine how different his life would have been had she not been in it.

“You don’t have to marry me, you know.”  Chloe’s quiet words caught him completely by surprise.

Lucifer stared at her, agog.  “What?”

She propped herself up next to him, pulling a sheet around her.  “Look, I know you were feeling like you had to propose because of the lack of feeling thing.  I just want to make sure you have a choice.”

With a sigh, he took her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.  “I have a choice now -- you’re still the one I want.”

Chloe frowned at his words.  “Want, yes, but to marry...?  I know you’re a dyed-in-the-wool bachelor -- I get that.  You’ve been on your own for this long....  And marriage was never an option for you --”

For a moment Lucifer squeezed his eyes shut with hurt.  “I’ve been alone for all my life, Detective.  My family hated me for eons, and that manipulative bastard of a father used me for his own entertainment.  I’ve never had....  You’re the first person who....”  His voice petered out as he looked away.

Stroking his chest, Chloe said, “Look, I just don’t want you to feel forced into it because of the baby, or Dan, or the fact that you couldn’t feel --”

He shook his head.  “I don’t feel forced, love.  It’s... it’s just....  I can’t live without you.”

She looked at him steadily in the eye.  “So you’re sure?  Because I know you love your freedom.”

Lucifer returned her gaze with conviction.  “I _am_ sure, love.  How can I convince you of that?  I’m more sure of this than anything I’ve ever done.  All I want -- all I’ll ever want -- is you.”   He squeezed her tightly in his arms, burying his face in her hair.  “Chloe, Chloe,” he whispered.  “I can’t live without you.  I need you with me forever....  Marry me.”

Smiling, she said.  “I love you, Lucifer Morningstar.  And if you’re sure, then yes -- I’ll marry you.”  

Lucifer face lit up with a satisfied smile.  “Good,” he said smugly.  Taking her face gently in his hands, he kissed her deeply.   They snuggled back in bed, and there weren’t any more words spoken for a long time afterwards.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Later, they went downstairs to break the news of the upcoming wedding to Amenadiel and Maze.  Amenadiel was shocked speechless, while Maze’s reaction was... explosive, to say the least.

“What?!”  You’re getting _married?!”_ she screeched angrily.  Rounding on Lucifer, she pleaded, “Tell me you’re joking -- please!”

The Devil stood up straight, his chest thrust out proudly as he wrapped his hand around Chloe’s waist.  “Sorry, Maze, but it’s true.  We’re getting married, as soon as the detective’s divorce is final.”

For a long moment the demon gaped at her boss, then she swiftly grabbed Amenadiel by the shirt and started shaking him like a rag doll without breaking eye contact with Lucifer.  “Why?!” she screamed.  “How can you do this?!”

“Maze, please!” Amenadiel yelped as he was flung around furiously.  Chloe worried that he would have a bad case of whiplash once Maze calmed down.

Tossing her boyfriend aside, the demon walked up to the blonde woman and poked her in the chest.  “You!   _You!_ This is your fault!  You’ve turned him into a... a... a marshmallow!”

“What?!” Lucifer exclaimed.  “I am not!  The Devil is not a marshmallow!”

“You _are_ a marshmallow! A soft, disgusting, nasty, cuddly thing with _feelings!”_  Throwing her hands up in the air, she let out a strangled scream.  “I can’t believe this! What happened to you?!”

“Bloody hell, Maze -- it’s not that bad!  And I refuse to be called a cuddly thing with feelings!”

“Well, that’s what you are!” At he opened his mouth to refute her claim, she snarled, “I’ll even prove it.  Tell me how you feel about Decker.”

“Well, I... ah....”  Lucifer glanced from Maze to Chloe, then back to Maze again.  “She’s... she’s....”  His face suddenly softened as he looked again at his fiancee.  “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“You see?   _You see?!”_ screamed the demon.  “Soft, disgusting, cuddly thing!”

She then proceeded to trash the flat like a wild bull in a china shop.  Amenadiel tried to stop her, pleading for her to stop, but she just bared her teeth at him and kept on with her destructive rampage.

“Now might not be the best time to tell her about the baby,” Chloe whispered to Lucifer.

“I do believe you’re right, my dear.  We best give her some time to come to terms with the marriage first,” he whispered back.

In a demonic rage, Maze completely destroyed all of the furniture before Amenadiel was able to restrain her.  Snarling like a wild animal, she started fighting him like mad, throwing him around.  Chloe suggested to Lucifer that they let the couple have their privacy, but the fallen angel just shook his head and watched with fascination.  The angel and demon fell on the floor, wrestling, before Maze started tearing Amenadiel’s clothes off.

“Okay, that’s it,” Chloe muttered, grabbing her lover hard by the arm and dragging him off.  

“But Detective -- it’s just getting interesting!” he protested.  “We should definitely try this --”

“Out, Mister,” she ordered as she pushed him out the door.  With one last regretful look at the couple having violent sex on the floor, he shut the door behind them.

 

 

________________________________________________

  


 

Chloe and Lucifer went to fetch Trixie next.  

The fallen angel had missed the little spawn terribly, although he refused to acknowledge it, even to himself.  He figured that he just missed her frenetic energy.  The drive up to Penelope’s mountain cabin in Chloe’s car was quiet as the couple sat next to each other in companionable silence.  At some point Lucifer took his fiancee’s hand and laced his fingers with hers.  It was amazing how such a simple act of holding hands could make him so happy.  And soon she would wear his ring -- bloody hell, he needed to get her a ring!  It would have to be something spectacular, he decided.  Thinking quickly, he realized he knew quite a number of jewelers that owed him favors.  He’d contact one of them....

When they pulled up in front of the cabin, Trixie dashed out the front door.  After hugging her mother, the little girl ran to Lucifer next.  She squealed his name as she dashed up and hugged him hard.  “I missed you,” she cried.

“I missed you too, child,” the fallen angel said with a smile as he gave her a hug back.  “Do you have all of your gear together?”

“Kinda,” she said.  “I’ll go get it!”

She dashed off, passing Penelope on her way back in.  Chloe’s mother walked to the couple in the driveway and sighed.  “Hello, Pumpkin, Lucifer,” she greeted.

“Hello, Mom,” Chloe said.  “Look, before we get into anything, I want to tell you -- Lucifer’s proposed to me, and I’ve accepted.”

The older woman just stared for a moment, shocked, then gave the tall man a hard once-over.  Her eye caught sight of the iron ring around his neck, and she frowned disapprovingly.  “What the hell is that?” she asked as she walked up to the tall man.  Whirling on her daughter, she cried, “Oh honey, no -- don’t tell me you’ve fallen for one of those bondage types!”

Chloe’s mouth dropped open.  “No, Mom!”

“A little bondage is perfectly acceptable when consensual,” Lucifer told her mother with a wink, which had his fiancee groaning.  “But this bloody thing --” he grabbed the offending ring, “-- is something completely different.  Rest assured, Penelope, I would never harm your daughter, nor have her do anything she is unwilling to do.”

The older woman looked at him skeptically, then glanced at her daughter.  “Well, I must say I’m very disappointed, and I do hope you will reconsider....  But if you choose to do this, then I’ll accept your decision.  Just... give Dan another chance, will you?”

“No, Mom,” said Chloe with a shake of her head.  Reaching out, she took Lucifer’s hand in hers with a smile.  “We’re getting married.  We’ll let you know when we have the wedding.”

Just then, Trixie came running out with her stuffed toy and her little suitcase in hand.  “I’m ready to go!” she announced happily.

The fallen angel took the little girl’s gear and stowed it in the trunk while Trixie and Chloe said their goodbyes to Penelope.  With a wave goodbye, the threesome took off in the car back down the mountain.

 


	18. The Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-big thank you to my excellent beta, ScooterThyme! You totally rock!

 

 

A week after Chloe had burnt out the collar, she received the papers finalizing the divorce.  Although she was extremely happy about it, she had the feeling that Lucifer had called in a debt -- maybe two -- to make it happen.  Hmmm.  She would have to discuss that with him.  Nothing was ever done that quickly in the City of Los Angeles....  This place was a bureaucratic nightmare!

Looking up from the paperwork, she spied Lucifer sitting at the dining table with Trixie.  Those two looked as thick as thieves, and she wondered what they were talking about.  Chloe was pleased to see them happy together.  The fallen angel had been spending every spare moment of his time at her house, helping with the cooking or taking care of Trixie.  Ever since she said she’d marry him, he seemed like a different person.  So... happy.  It filled her with warmth.

Very quietly, she tried to sneak up on the pair, but Lucifer, as always, knew exactly where she was.  Turning with a smile, he quickly covered up what they were looking at -- a magazine -- and stood.

“Ah, there you are,” he said, intercepting her and sweeping her off her feet -- literally -- with a dip kiss before she could even say anything.  For a long moment they reveled in the feel of each other before she remembered her daughter sitting nearby.  Breaking away, she glanced at the table.  Trixie and the magazine were gone.

“You did that on purpose,” she said with narrowed eyes, although a smile played on her lips.

“Indeed I did,” the fallen angel agreed smugly, before kissing her senseless for long minutes.

“Okay, you have to stop that,” she whispered as she tried to catch her breath.

“But why, love?”  Lucifer’s eyes twinkled as he looked down at her.  “We _are_ going to be married, after all.”  His eyes went to her left hand, where she wore the engagement ring he had bought her.  It was a beautiful thing -- a huge sapphire ring surrounded by diamonds.  Chloe had cried when he had gone down on one knee -- well, two knees, actually -- and given it to her almost a week ago.

“But Trixie --”

“Isn’t anywhere around.”  Before she could even guess at what he was going to do, he had picked her up and cradled her in his arms.  A devilish grin lit his face as he carried her upstairs.  “I’ll make sure to close the bloody door, although I’m not sure she wouldn’t hear.  You are quite noisy, my dear --”

She playfully punched him.

“Ow!” he cried as he entered her bedroom and kicked the door shut.  His warm voice was full of promise as he said, “You’ll pay for that, love…”

With a coy smile, she replied, “I’m counting on it....”

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Chloe was awakened by Lucifer gently brushing the hair from her face.  “Hey,” she whispered with a smile.

His face was a study of concern, with eyes wide with worry.  “I wore you out....”

“No, my dear Devil,” she said.  “It’s the baby.  Makes me tired.”

“So soon, love?  It’s only been a few weeks since --”

She laughed.  “Yes, so soon, Lucifer.  Don’t worry.  It’s natural.”

The fallen angel looked at her doubtfully.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Bloody sure?”

“Yes, bloody sure!  Now I have to get up and make sure Trixie’s doing her homework.”  He helped pull her to a sitting position, lingering over her like a mother hen.  If he was going to do that for the whole nine months, he was going to drive her crazy.  “Don’t hover, Lucifer.  I’ll be fine.”

“But --”

Chloe cut him off with a kiss and a smile.  “I’ve done this before, my love.  I will be fine.”

His look told her that he obviously didn’t believe her, which made her laugh.  As they both got dressed, Chloe said, “Did you know you just made love to a free woman?”

Lucifer looked up at that, his face bright with happiness -- or maybe it was the afterglow of sex...?  Chloe couldn’t tell which.  “Splendid!” he said.  “It’s about bloody time....”

“So you did have something to do with it?”

“Of course, love.  I asked a judge who owed me a favor to expedite the paperwork,” he said proudly, confirming her suspicions.  

She had to ask.  “There wasn’t anything illegal about this, was there?”

Shooting her an offended look, the fallen angel cried, “Detective, please!  Would I involve you in anything illegal?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” she asked him with a lifted eyebrow.  Lucifer merely chuckled.  She sat next to him as he pulled on his silk shirt and started to button it up.  With a tentative hand, she reached out and touched the collar.

Her eyes caught the flinch he tried to hide whenever she touched the iron.  “I wish we could take this off,” she whispered.  “It seems to pain you so, to have to wear it --”

“No, love.  No.  I just look ridiculous with the bloody thing on.  That’s all, my dear.”  The fallen angel took her hand and kissed her fingertips.  “I am free, but this... this bloody dog collar reminds me that I wasn’t, for a little while.”

A coy smile lit her face.  She said, “Well, you won’t be free once we get married,” as she brushed her lips against his stubbly cheek.  She felt him grin.  

Without warning, Lucifer stood up, catching her by surprise.  “And that reminds me, my dear -- I have things to do!  Excuse me!”  He left her gaping as he rushed out the door.  For brief moment he returned, looking at her through the doorway as he tucked his shirt in his trousers.  “Don’t wait up for me, love -- I may be late.  Ta!”

And then he was gone, like a whirlwind, leaving Chloe wondering just what the hell had happened.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Lucifer disappeared for a few days, but called every day to see how she was faring.  More often than not, he would ask to talk to Trixie.  Wondering what was going on, she finally cornered her daughter.

“Okay, what’s going on between you and Lucifer?”

Trixie looked up at her with big, twinkling eyes and said, “I can’t tell you until Saturday, Mommy.”

“Why, baby?  What’s Saturday?” Chloe asked.  

The little girl just grinned.  “Lucifer said you would try to find out.  You’ll just have to wait!  Now I have to do my homework.  Bye, Mommy!” she said and escaped to her room.

“Well...!” she said as she put her hands on her hips and stared at Trixie’s closed bedroom door.  

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Saturday came at last.

It felt like time had maddeningly slowed down while Chloe waited for the day to arrive.  She couldn’t figure out what was going on, and she missed Lucifer desperately.  When the day arrived, she woke up in the morning, got Trixie up so that she could watch her Saturday morning cartoons, made breakfast for the both of them, and started laundry.  Everything was like a typical Saturday until 11:00 rolled around, when she dozed off on the couch for a few minutes.

“Mommy, Mommy!” Trixie cried, shaking her quite violently.

Chloe woke up with a start.  “What is it?  What’s wrong, monkey?” she asked, alarmed.  

The little girl stood in front of her with a huge box in her hand.  “You have to wear this, Mommy.  We’re going to be late.”

For a moment, the blonde woman could only stare at her daughter and the package.  Her brain was still a little foggy from sleep.  “What?”

“Mommy, come on!  You have to wear this!” Trixie said again, shoving the box into her mother’s lap.  “We’re going to be late!”

With narrowed eyes, Chloe looked at the box as if it was a coiled snake.  “What is this?” she asked suspiciously.

“Open it!”

Her fingers trembled as she opened the box.  Inside lay a gorgeous confection of silk and lace -- a wedding dress.  “Oh my god,” she breathed.  Her eyes went to Trixie’s.  “What --”

Her daughter grinned like a Cheshire Cat.  “You’re getting married today, Mommy!  I helped Lucifer plan the whole thing!” she said proudly.  “He has no clue about romance, so I had to help him.”

Chloe put the box aside and gave her daughter a big hug.  “Oh, baby, this is unbelievable!  Thank you!”

“Thank Lucifer!  It was his idea to surprise you!”  Trixie started tugging on her hand.  “Now come on!  Amenadiel will be here with the car soon!”

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Amenadiel picked them both up in a limousine and drove them to LUX.  

Chloe still couldn’t believe what was happening. Her beautiful, one-of-a-kind sleeveless wedding dress with its sweetheart bodice, French lace, and pearl accents fit her perfectly.  She wasn’t even sure how Lucifer could have gotten a dress like this made in such a short time.  Trixie wore a deep red silk dress with ribbons and bows.

The angel opened the door to the nightclub for her, and she entered with her daughter.  At first it seemed a little dark after being in the bright Southern California sunshine, but her eyes quickly adjusted.  LUX didn’t look anything like LUX.  There were flowers everywhere, and everything was tastefully decorated.  At the bottom of the stairs were a few people... and Lucifer, looking quite handsome in a tuxedo with a dark red cumberbund that matched Trixie’s dress.  The collar was still around his neck -- it couldn’t be hidden -- but it blended in with the ensemble well enough so as not to draw attention.

Ray Kamiya, who had been waiting for her by the door, walked up to her side, handed her a huge bouquet, and asked, “May I walk you down the aisle?”

Chloe smiled at him, her eyes bright with unshed tears.  “Yes, please, Ray.”

A string quartet started to play the Wedding March as Trixie preceded them down the red carpet to where the guests, the judge and the groom were.  A quick glance showed Maze and Amenadiel -- Chloe wasn’t sure how he had gotten past her to get down there, but then again, he was an angel -- Raphael, Hal GeWitter, and her mother seated in the room.  Lucifer stood next to the judge, gazing at her with shining eyes.  

He looked a little nervous, but as she approached, his face relaxed and softened with love.  He smiled at her, and she returned the gesture.  He held out her hand, and she took it as Ray left her side to sit with the other guests.

“Did you think I wasn’t coming?” Chloe whispered to him.

“The thought did occur to me, yes,” Lucifer whispered back and squeezed her hand as they turned to the judge.

“We are gathered here in the presence of these witnesses to join this man and woman in matrimony....”

Chloe passed through most of the ceremony in a happy, unbelieving haze.  She was barely aware of feeling Lucifer’s hand in hers, or hearing her beloved say “I will.”  He had to squeeze her hand for her to say, “I will,” when the time came.  

She heard him say in his warm voice, “I, Lucifer Morningstar, take thee Chloe Decker, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

And then she was saying the words that filled her heart with so much love that she could barely keep her voice from trembling.

“I, Chloe Decker, take thee Lucifer Morningstar, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

The rings were exchanged, and at last she heard the judge say the words, “I pronounce you to be husband and wife, and extend to you my best wishes for a successful and happy married life together.  Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Lucifer Morningstar.  Congratulations!  You may kiss your bride.”

Lucifer swept her into his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

The reception was held upstairs in the flat -- just a small affair.  Lucifer couldn’t believe that Chloe was now his, forever.  He wanted to soar to the highest skyscraper in Los Angeles and shout out his happiness to the world.  He watched her with loving eyes from across the room; she was talking with Ray and Hal, but she caught his gaze and smiled back at him.  He ambled his way over.

“Congratulations, little winged man!” Hal said, thumping him hard on the back.  “You did right by our Compassion!”

“Bloody hell, Hal, did you think I wouldn’t?” Lucifer asked with a raised eyebrow.  

Ray headed off the pending argument by grabbing the fallen angel’s hand and shaking it vigorously.  “I’m so happy to see this day,” he said.  

“As am I,” Lucifer said, grinning.  “I only wish....  It would have been nice if Healing had been able to come.”  When Chloe took his hand in hers and gave it a little squeeze, he glanced at her with a wistful smile.

“I’m sure he’s more than happy for you both,” Ray said.

“Oh, Ray, the Family said to tell you they miss you.  I assume you’re Wisdom?” Chloe asked.

The old man nodded with a grin.  “That’s me.”

“And Hal -- they said to tell you that Sun is still angry with you, but calming down,” she added.

Hal snorted.  “Yeah, right.  Like that’s going to happen.”

“What the bloody hell did you do to get kicked out?  They seemed like a friendly enough people.” Lucifer asked, curiosity aroused.

“I was an ass -- I told you.”

The fallen angel’s eyes glinted with humor.  “This is bloody fascinating.  I want to know how much of an arse you were.”

“Well, I’m not telling you, little winged man.”

“Right.  Remember, I _am_ family now.  Come on, Hal....  You can tell me!”  Lucifer started grinning wickedly as he applied his charm.  Annoyed, Hal slanted him a cutting look.

Just then Penelope came up to the group, making eyes at Hal.  “Hal, come over and sit with me for a spell.  I want to know all about you!  How do you know my daughter and Lucifer?”

The storm god looked hunted.  “Uhhh, look, I really have to go.  It’s way past my bedtime.”

“It’s only 4:00 in the afternoon!” the older woman protested.

“Yeah.  Got to work the night shift.  Bye!”  And with that, the storm god ran to the elevator and left.

Penelope pouted, then said, “Well, I guess I better run as well.  I’ll bring Trixie to you tomorrow evening, so that you can have a... proper wedding night.”  She called to her granddaughter.  “Trixie!  Say goodbye!”

Trixie ran up to Lucifer, giving him his customary huge hug around the waist, which he returned with a smile.  Looking up at him with shining eyes, the little girl said, “Thank you for marrying Mommy, Lucifer!  Today was awesome and Mommy was totally surprised!”

The fallen angel grinned at his wife.  “Yes, I suspect she was.”

“You be good for Nana, okay?” Chloe told Trixie, who nodded once then gave her mother a hug.  

“I will!  See you tomorrow!  I love you, Mommy!  I love you, Lucifer!”

The couple waved at Penelope and Trixie as they left.

“I best be on my way, as well.  Please come and visit when the baby comes,” Ray said with a wink.  And then he left with a wave.

Amenadiel, Raphael and Maze came up next.

“Congratulations,” Raphael said with a smile, shaking his brother’s hand and kissing Chloe on the cheek.  

“No kissing my wife,” Lucifer warned, but he smiled as he said it.  Chloe was his, and he could finally -- finally! -- let the jealousy go.  

“Call me when you need me,” Raphael said with a meaningful glance before leaving via the balcony.

Amenadiel and Maze looked at them both -- the angel with happiness, the demon with disgust.

“That was the most horrific thing I’ve ever had to watch in my entire life,” Maze spat.  “Ugh.  Disgusting.  Well, at least now you can have undisturbed sex, and lots of it.  Speaking of which --” she grabbed Amenadiel by the shirt and started to drag him off.

“But Maze -- wouldn’t you like to be... married too?  I mean, if Luci could --”

“No.  Shut up.”

“But --”

 _“No._  Do you want me to decapitate you?!  Drop it, shut up and kiss me, you sexy beast....” she growled as the elevator doors closed behind them.

Lucifer and Chloe burst into laughter, until the fallen angel turned to his lover.

“Alone at last, wife,” he said in his best bedroom voice, making Chloe smile.  He rolled the word around on his tongue before saying it again.  “Wife… That has such a lovely ring to it.”

“As does husband,” Chloe said in a sultry voice.  “I think it’s time you exercised your conjugal rights, husband.”

“Indeed.”  Grinning like a mad fool, Lucifer swept Chloe into his arms, and took her to their bed.

 

 

________________________________________________

 

 

Much, much later, Lucifer stared down at his beautiful wife.  His wife!  What a wonderful word that was.  She slept soundly, exhausted from their lovemaking, and... the impending little one.  He really needed to get his head together and start thinking about that, but it just sent him flying into a blind panic every time.  The fear that he would turn into his dad ate at him.  And what the bloody hell was he going to do with a little one of his own?  What did one _do_ with a little one?!

With a sigh, he pushed the thought aside and instead focused on his lovely bride.  He caressed her cheek; she stirred, but didn’t waken.  His heart was bursting with the love he felt for Chloe; if he could make love to her twenty-four hours a day for the rest of eternity, it wouldn’t be enough.  It would never be enough.  

Noticing that it was just about dinner time, he decided to get up and make them some food.  Carefully easing away from Chloe, Lucifer slipped out of bed and went to the closet to pull out his silk robe.  As he did, his eye caught a glimpse of something in the nearby mirror.

The blood drained out of his face as he slowly approached his reflection.  The carvings on the collar were glowing a pale, sickly green.

Aphrodite had come to the Earthly plane.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super-huge THANK YOU to all of you wonderful readers who have kept up with this Lucifer and Chloe through so many installments! You're all such an inspiration to me to keep writing about these two -- thank you so much! I really appreciate all of you reading and for commenting, as well! I hope you have enjoyed this installment and hopefully you'll join me for the next one! 
> 
> If anyone is interested in reading about how Lucifer presented the engagement ring to Chloe, I've written a short one-shot of that entitled "The Engagement Ring." It's not linked up to the series -- wasn't sure how to do that without messing up the numbering of the parts -- but it's clearly marked as a "Carry On, Wayward Son" story. Thank you, Lzod, for requesting some Carry On one shots!
> 
> The next installment is called "The Measure of a Man's Heart" and I'll start posting that on Monday. My beta has become quite busy with real life, so hopefully I will be able to keep up the posting schedule. It might slip, just to warn you, but hopefully not....
> 
> Thank you all, you wonderful readers!! You are all awesome -- the best! I am YOUR biggest fan! Thank you!!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Engagement Ring - A Carry On, Wayward Son story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8155693) by [Antarctic_Echoes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctic_Echoes/pseuds/Antarctic_Echoes)




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